


Advanced Relationship Uncertainty and Separation

by AlmightyMirage



Series: Favorites, Feelings and You [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drinking, Drinking to Cope, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25095412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmightyMirage/pseuds/AlmightyMirage
Summary: In the wake of Annie leaving for D.C., Jeff doesn't know what to do. They left on good, but uncertain terms, leaving Jeff unsure about how to deal with him not being able to act upon the feelings he finally opened up about.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Series: Favorites, Feelings and You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1833271
Comments: 62
Kudos: 80





	1. Introduction To Unhealthy Coping Mechanics

It was so stupid, really. It had been a week, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. Normally, he would get up, make himself look good, and head to work. But now he had the summer off, and time to kill. And the person he wanted to kill that time with? Well, she wasn’t there. Maybe she would never be there. It had started off with thoughts like that, and then spiralled. And that’s how he found himself here, at The Vatican at 2 AM, drunk out of his mind. 

“Jeff, I’m not serving you anymore. And I’ve told the rest not to give you more too, so don’t even try it.” Britta said, looking at him with that judgemental look of hers.

“Shut it Britta.” Jeff bit back, not interested in what she had to say. 

“I’m serious Jeff. Go home, get some rest. This isn’t healthy, you’ll look like shit if you keep this up.” Britta said, trying to appeal to Jeff’s sense of self-preservation regarding his looks.

“I don’t care.” Jeff responded coldly while staring down at his empty glass, slurring his words.

“Okay, that’s enough. I’m calling you a cab back home.” Britta said, exasperated by how uncooperative he was. She had to talk with him, but she wasn’t going to learn much in his current state.

Five minutes later, he had somehow ended up in the back of a cab. Looking out of the window, he saw the familiar surroundings of the city he had called home for many years now, but he didn’t feel like he wanted to be there. He wanted to cross the country, to see her and be with her. But he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She had to be allowed space to find herself outside of the weird bubble that was Greendale, and that meant that he had to stay away for now. The problem being that it left him between a rock and a hard place. He could neither commit to it, nor truly move on. 

Thankfully, Britta had paid for the ride home, and more just in case, telling the driver to keep the change as tip for putting up with the miserable and drunk passenger. Once he finally arrived, he hobbled out of the cab with the knowledge that he’d have to pay back Britta eventually. Mindlessly, he wandered back up to his apartment, hoping the dean wouldn’t be in the hallway to greet him. He really was not in the mood for his shenanigans right now. Luckily, he was able to sneak in undetected, and discarded his clothes haphazardly on his way to the bathroom, before collapsing on the bed.

In the afternoon the day after, he found himself stuck under a blanket, nursing his coffee while watching tv, definitely not doing anything with his slight hangover. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, as he heard a knock on his door. Slowly, he got up, blanket still draped over his back, and opened the door to find the person he least wanted to see.

“Brittaaaaaa, what a pleasant surprise…” He sarcastically said as he opened the door, already knowing what she was there for.

“You look like shit.” Britta bit back, looking right at his very tired face.

“Thanks, feel like it too.” Jeff said, not in the mood to even try to keep up in a battle of insults.

“No wonder. Can I come in? I think we need to talk.” Britta asked.

“Ugh. Fine. But I’m not cleaning up for you.” Jeff responded with a sigh, and turned to go back inside, letting Britta enter.

“I see your place looks just as bad as you do.” Britta commented as she entered, while hanging her jacket up.

“Not cleaning it up.” Jeff repeated.

“If you brought a girl back here, they’d turn around and leave as soon as they opened the door.” Britta laughed, remembering how clean and neat Jeff’s place usually was.

“Well I’m not doing that, so I don’t care.” Jeff deadpanned back, not even slightly interested. “Why are you here, Britta?”

“Jeff Winger not interested in bringing girls back to his place? Who _are_ you?” Britta said, laughing a bit as she said it.

“Did you come here just to gloat? If so, I’d rather go back to watching tv.” Jeff said, losing his patience with her quickly.

“No, I think we need to talk. Mind if we sit down?” Britta said, nodding towards the couch.

“Fine.” Jeff answered shortly.

The two sat down, Jeff finding his spot on the couch while Britta threw away some pants from a chair, and sat down there so she could face him directly.

“So, I’ve noticed that you’ve been drinking more in the past week.” Britta started off. “And I’d like to talk about that.” 

“Ah great, you’re here to play therapist again.” Jeff said, slightly annoyed.

“Look, I know I’ve done that in the past, and that you didn’t like it, but you’re clearly not okay, Jeff. I want to help you.” Britta said honestly, genuinely wanting to help him.

“I don’t need your help.” Jeff said dismissively.

“Really? You got more drunk than you’ve been in ages last night, and by the looks of it you’ve been drinking here too. And the place looks like a dump. You looked like hell last night, and you look even worse now. Have you even shaved in the past week?” Britta said, pointing out all the things about Jeff that was different from the norm. 

“Look, I’m not in the best mood at the moment, but I don’t need you to be my therapist.” Jeff said, still trying to get her to back off.

“Best mood? Jeff, it’s like I’m dealing with some shell of your normal self. And even if it’s just you being moody, dealing with it by getting drunk and not taking care of yourself isn’t the best way to do that. It’s not like you at all. Keep this up and you won’t even have your abs to comfort you.” Britta said, trying to hammer home how far away from normal this really was.

“Britta, I’m fine. Just leave me be, please.” Jeff said, exasperated by her nagging.

“No, you have to deal with this. What is this about? Have you been in contact with your dad again?” Britta asked, trying to figure out what could break Jeff like this.

“No, haven’t talked to him since you met him.” Jeff said honestly.

“You’re sure?” Britta asked, just in case he was trying to trick her.

“Britta, why would I give him the time of day? I don’t intend to ever speak to him again.” Jeff asked her with frustration in his voice.

“I don’t know? I’m just trying to figure out why you’re like this.” 

“Like what?” Jeff replied somewhat aggressively.

“Like a drunken, slobby prick.” Britta said, not mincing words. 

“Gee, thanks.” Jeff replied, rolling his eyes at her, but still not giving her a comeback.

“Okay, so since it’s not your dad, is this about Abed and Annie leaving?” Britta asked, looking intently at his face for a reaction.

Instinctively, Jeff looked away. He knew she would eventually get to that, since he deflected her previous assumption, but he didn’t have anything clever to say. Normally, he would deflect that too, but his mind was failing him. Maybe it was the hangover. He hoped it was. “It’s not that, okay? It’s private, and I’d like to keep it that way.” He said, in a halfassed attempt to divert her focus.

“So it _is_ about them leaving! I knew it!” Britta said happily, a bit too happy about being right to actually be a good therapist.

“Ugh, you are the worst.” Jeff groaned at seeing the painful reminder of why he never ever wanted to let Britta play therapist. 

“Okay, so what exactly about them leaving made you this way? You seemed okay right after they left.” Britta asked, trying to compose herself again. 

“I just miss them, okay? It’ll pass, now just please let me go back to watching tv, my head hurts.” Jeff replied.

“You don’t expect me to buy that, right? You’ve been through plenty of summer breaks where you haven’t seen any in the group. You handled Troy leaving fine, you handled Shirley leaving, and you handled Pierce dying. Yet you expect me to believe that Abed and Annie leaving completely breaks you just because? No, something more happened.” Britta said, thinking out loud to put Jeff on the spot.

“Britta, I think you might be reading into some things.” Jeff said, trying to dismiss her accusations.

“No, you’re hiding something. And I know it wasn’t with Abed, that wouldn’t make sense. This is about Annie. What did you do, Jeff?” Britta asked with an accusatory tone.

“I didn’t do anything.” Jeff said flatly, again trying to dismiss her line of thought.

“Liar. Something happened, and now you’re depressed because she isn’t here.” Britta said, not buying his act one bit.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get her away, Jeff sighed. “Fine. Something happened. We talked before she left, and now things are just weird.” 

“What did you talk about?” Britta asked, her tone now a bit nicer.

“We talked about us.” Jeff replied.

“Us, as in you and me or you and Annie?” Britta asked, wanting him to clarify.

“Me and her.” Jeff clarified willingly. 

“Okay, but what exactly was said? Did she finally come to her senses and tell you to get lost?” Britta asked, again revealing the poorly hidden secret that she didn’t exactly approve of the two of them together.

“No. I finally did what I should have done long ago – I admitted to my feelings. And we uh, kissed. But then I let her go.” Jeff explained, hesitantly.

“You kissed her, and then let her go? Jesus, you really are the master of mixed signals aren’t you.” Britta said, barely believing what she was hearing.

“Kiss was her idea. And I didn’t want to guilt trip her into staying, that wouldn’t be fair. She deserves to go see the world outside of this crazy place.” Jeff explained, giving her his honest thoughts.

“Jeff Winger, not being a selfish prick. Who would have thought?” Britta exclaimed, chuckling a bit.

“You are still the absolute worst, so at least some things stay the same.” Jeff bit back, showing a bit more of his usual self now.

“Hah. Okay, so do you regret letting her go, or do you regret kissing her?” Britta asks, still needing clarification for what exactly led to Jeff’s reaction.

“Neither. I did the right thing.” Jeff said without a doubt in his mind.

“Okay, I’m confused.” Britta admitted. She could not understand why Jeff was so down if he felt like he had done the right thing.

Jeff finally managed to look up and right at Britta, knowing he had to make sure she understood how serious he was. “I did the right thing for her, by not being selfish. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt, or scare me to let her go.” Jeff said, opening himself up in rare fashion to Britta.

Britta sat there, mouth slightly agape, surprised at how she had actually gotten Jeff to open up about anything real to her directly. Her mouth suddenly turned into a proud smile, really happy about her work.

“Britta, why are you giving me that look?” Jeff said with a worried look on his face, slightly scared by the look Britta was giving him.

“Oh, I’m just so freaking happy that I finally got something useful from you.” She admitted, proud of her own work. “Anyway, you should be proud Jeff, that you put her interests ahead of your own. You know, that was part of why the rest of the group was so sceptical of you two. We feared that you’d get your way with her, because you often get people to listen to you no matter if you’re right or wrong.” 

“I think it’s the other way around with me and her.” Jeff mumbled out, inadvertently thinking out loud.

“What?” Britta asked, not catching what he had said.

“Nothing. I could never do that to her.” Jeff said, not admitting to how easily Annie could get her will with him.

“Ah, right. You’re willing to manipulate everyone else, but not her.” Britta said, slightly sarcastic.

Ignoring Britta’s comment, Jeff continued his thoughts. “I just don’t know what to do, that’s the thing. I want to be with her, talk with her, but I also know I have to give her some space. And it just sucks, and I don’t know how to deal with that.” Jeff admitted, finally getting to what had led him to spiral like he did.

“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about it.” Britta said, somewhat surprised that the same womanizer she had been on and off with (casually) could be so committed to someone that he had broken down over it.

“You really need to stop doubting me like that.” Jeff said, feigning hurt over it.

“Jeff, you once told Shirley that men crave young flesh. Excuse me for not exactly believing you have other people’s best interests in mind at all times.” Britta sassed back at him, remembering the comment he once made.

“That was years ago!” Jeff responded, annoyed that she even brought that back up. “Either way, are you here to help me or to judge me?” 

“Both.” Britta deadpanned. 

“Okay, but enough judging. If your only intentions are to drag all my secrets out of me and judge me, then you can leave me be. I’ve told you enough.” Jeff said with an annoyed tone, tired of her antics. 

“Fine. Have you talked with her since she left?” Britta asked, now trying to be helpful.

“No, I wanted to let her get some space.” Jeff replied, explaining his thinking.

“Jeff, you kissed her. There’s obviously something there, and if you just don’t contact her, she’ll just be hurt and confused. You don’t need to talk each and every day, but reach out now and then to talk. She’ll appreciate it.” Britta said, amazed that Jeff found this so difficult.

“Uh, thanks. I think I’ll do that.” Jeff said, thinking that it probably wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He and Annie had never been frequent texters, but now was as a good a time as any to start. 

“But even then, I think you need something to do this summer. You can’t go around just thinking about her.” Britta added, thinking that texting Annie, watching tv and going to the bar wasn’t a great plan for how to spend the summer.

“I guess I’ll get back to the gym...” Jeff said absentmindedly.

“You stopped working out? Wow, things were worse than I could have imagined. You should be glad I intervened. But I meant something outside of your normal day to day things you do outside of work. Like, have you talked to your brother?” Britta suggested, thinking back to the dreadful day she had met his dad.

“No, I haven’t.” Jeff said.

“Didn’t you promise you’d hang out with him?” Britta asked, already knowing the answer.

“I guess I did. But I don’t even know what I’d do with him. He’s so young and different from me.” Jeff admitted, giving the reason why he hadn’t done so yet.

“Yeah, but that’s why it’s easy. His home life sucks, his dad is awful, and he’s, and I say this in the nicest way possible, a bit of a loser. Just do _anything_ with him and he’ll love you forever.” Britta said, laughing a bit at how impressionable Willy Jr. probably would be.

“I guess.” Jeff sighed. 

“If you need help, I can come with as long as it’s daytime, but not too early. I work nights, for the most part. Speaking of which, I think it’s time for me to go. Work in a few hours, so I need to get back.” Britta said, starting to get up from her seat.

“I’ll think about it. And uh, I hate to say this, but thanks. That was really helpful.” Jeff reluctantly said, hating that he would be fuelling her ego.

“It’s no problem, this is what I do Jeff. Come on.” Britta said, like it was the most obvious and natural thing ever.

“I suggest you shut up before I change my mind.” Jeff said, not liking how quickly Britta’s ego had increased.

“I will see you some other time. Bye!” Britta said, hurrying out before he actually did change his mind.

Once she left, Jeff was left alone with his own thoughts yet again, the combination that had turned out to be so dangerous in the past week. But this time, he thought that Britta had actually made sense and been helpful, for once. After a few minutes, he left his couch and walked to the shower, cleaning himself up properly, before trimming his beard and applying some facial care. After that, he intended to finally text Annie.


	2. Long Distance Communication 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff decides to text Annie, leaving himself a nervous wreck until she responds.

_Hey, how has the first week in DC been?_  
-Jeff Winger 4:37 PM

He sat there, looking at the text he had sent. It had been an hour now. Had she decided to ignore him to allow herself space? Had he waited too long to text her, hurting her in the process? Should he have been more personal in the text? He had checked his phone every few minutes since he sent it, nervous over her response. Finally, she responded.

_Hey, sorry for the late reply! I just got off work. First week has been nice. Work is very interesting, but lots to do so I don’t carry my phone with me._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 5:52 PM

Jeff let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding at the sight of seeing her text pop up on his screen. Not waiting around, he decided to reply instantly. Didn’t matter if it seemed like he had been waiting, he just wanted to talk with her.

_That’s great! What exactly are you doing so far?_  
-Jeff Winger 5:53 PM

_For now, they’re mostly letting me watch so I learn the various tasks. Really interesting to watch though!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 5:55 PM

_Ah, I’m sure they’ll let you try for yourself soon. You’ll nail it for sure_  
-Jeff Winger 5:56 PM

_Hopefully! How about you, how has summer break been so far?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 5:57 PM

Jeff froze up for a second when he saw that question. He didn’t want to lie to her, but at the same time he didn’t want to tell her how badly he had been doing in the past week either. Hesitantly, he decided to reply in nondescript fashion.

_Kinda boring tbh. Need to find something to do_  
-Jeff Winger 6:00 PM

_That’s too bad. I’m sure you’ll find something soon!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 6:02 PM

“Ever the optimist.” Jeff chuckled to himself upon seeing her message.

_How about at home, are the roomies alright?_  
-Jeff Winger 6:03 PM

_Bit different from what I’m used to, but they seem okay. I’ve lived in worse places though, so I’ll make it work._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 6:04 PM

_I’m sure you will. If you can live above Dildopolis, endure Abed and Troy and survive Britta's mess, you can live with anyone lol_  
-Jeff Winger 6:06 PM

_Hah, yeah. Anyway, gonna make some dinner now, talk to you some other time!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 6:07 PM

_Alright, have a good night!_  
-Jeff Winger 6:07 PM

_You too! And btw, thanks for checking in on me!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 6:10 PM

Jeff was happy to see that last message tick in on his phone. She was happy he had texted her, which was a massive relief to him. He still wasn’t sure how to he would proceed, but at least it seemed like texting her now and then would be fine. Relieved, he put down his phone, and pondered what to do for the rest of the night.

Having cleaned up himself, he decided he would at least start cleaning up the apartment, starting by throwing the empty bottles of scotch into a plastic bag and dumping it down the garbage hatch. On his way back into his apartment, he heard a door open behind him.

“Jeffrey!” He heard the familiar voice call out behind him.

“Craig, to what do I owe the pleasure?” He responded with a slight sigh, not much more interested in his nagging than he normally was.

“Oh, I just wanted to say hi. You look much better today than the past week, I must say!” The always excitable Dean exclaimed, his eyes drifting up and down the sweatpants and t-shirt clad Jeff.

“We haven’t seen each other in a week, Craig.” Jeff responded; a bit unsettled by the Dean’s comment.

“Oh, but I’ve seen you pass by in the hallway Jeffrey!” Craig exclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing that he was watching the hallways.

“Eh, okay. Anyway, I need to get back to cleaning. Bye.” Jeff said, and scurried inside his apartment and shut the door.

“Jeffrey! I can help clean!” Craig said loud enough that Jeff would hear it, but Jeff pretended not to hear it.

Back inside the solitude of his own apartment, Jeff breathed a sigh of relief. If the dean wasn’t his boss, he would have filed a restraining order ages ago, he thought to himself. Even then, it felt tempting, but he knew that it would put his job in danger if he did. As much as it sometimes unsettled him, and had caused him to not have spare key hidden outside his apartment anymore, the luxury of having a boss that loved him was too great to give up, for the time being at least.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of how he wanted to get rid of his neighbour, he decided to continue cleaning up. Various unhealthy foods with far too much carbs were thrown out, leading him to make a mental note to make sure he went to the gym the day after. Half an hour later, he dumped a plastic bag full of garbage by his door, promising himself to bring it to the garbage hatch in the morning.

With the place substantially, but not entirely clean, he settled down on the couch to text Willy Jr., to find out when he was available.

_Hey, Jeff here. Know it’s been a while, but I have some time off, so if you want to do something, I’m available the next few weeks._  
-Jeff Winger 8:02 PM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter and very different chapter, but hopefully it works!


	3. Introduction To Life, Winger Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willy, I'm gonna teach you how to live. Kidding. Sorta. Jeff tries to help Willy appear more like a normal, better looking person.

Later that week, having gone to the gym in the morning every single day to make up for his week of unhealthy living, Jeff found himself in his car on the way to pick up his brother. It still felt weird to him in his mind, that he had a brother. He didn’t really feel the big obligation to be there for him, but a few hours of seeing his dad again had made enough of an impression that he would at least try to help make his brother a functional member of society. 

Parking his car outside of a small local grocery store, he looked over the answer he had received yet again.

 _I’d love to! Is Friday okay?_  
-Weird Brother 8:27 PM

 _Sounds fine. I can meet you at 3 PM._  
-Jeff Winger 8:33 PM

 _Sweet! Anything specific you want to do?_  
-Weird Brother 8:34 PM

 _Hadn’t thought that far ahead. Will figure something out. Btw, won’t pick you up at your house. Go to the grocery store a few blocks away, I’ll meet you there._  
-Jeff Winger 8:37 PM

 _Don’t want dad to see you hanging out with me?_  
-Weird Brother 8:38 PM

 _No, I don’t want to see him, period. I don’t want to give him an excuse to talk to me, so we’ll meet where I said, okay?_  
-Jeff Winger 8:41 PM

 _Okay, will do. See you then._  
-Weird Brother 8:42 PM

It was now 3:06 PM, yet his brother was nowhere to be seen. “I guess being late runs in the family.” Jeff thought to himself. Moments later, he heard a knock on his window, scaring the life out of him. It was an action he almost automatically assumed that his nosy neighbour would pull, and so he nearly instinctively reached out for the ignition, but he turned to see that it was in fact his brother. He pointed to the other door, wanting him to get in.

His brother did as he indicated, and opened up the passenger door and got inside. “Hey!” Willy Jr. exclaimed, and went in for the hug instantly. 

A bit caught off guard, Jeff kept his hands to his sides. “Hi there.” He answered a bit carefully.

“Sorry I’m late, dad wouldn’t let me leave. Didn’t believe my excuse.” Willy Jr. said, feeling bad that his brother had to wait for him.

“That’s okay, I wasn’t on time either. I hope you didn’t tell him you were meeting me?” Jeff asked, hoping that he wouldn't suddenly get a call from his father. Though that was doubtful, he stayed away for 30 years without as much as attempting to contact him, so he didn’t think he would suddenly call him now. 

“No, I told him I was meeting friends, but he said I don’t have any. Eventually I just left.” Willy Jr. explained. 

“What a dick.” Jeff simply said upon hearing that. 

“Anyway, what are we doing? Are we gonna go pick up girls? I’ve always wanted to do that!” Willy Jr. asked way too excitedly for Jeff’s liking.

“Willy, no. I had something else in mind. But first, I’m not calling you Willy, just reminds me of a dick, and I don’t want that picture in my head all day.” Jeff said, amazed at how his dad had nicknamed him Willy Jr., of all things.

“Uh, okay. You can call me William, I guess.” Willy responded; a bit taken aback by how blunt Jeff suddenly was.

“No, reminds me of dad. I’ll call you Will, that okay?” Jeff said, hoping for dear life that he’d agree.

Willy still seemed a bit surprised, and sat still, thinking about it. “Okay, you can call me that.” He finally said, thinking that it wouldn’t be too bad.

“First off, we’re going shopping.” Jeff continued, with the name-issue resolved.

“Shopping for what?” Will asked instantly, the curiosity evident in his voice.

“Clothes. There is no way I’m letting you walk around wearing a sweater that is too long for your arms, and a shirt that doesn’t match. If you’re going for a more serious look, drop the sweater. If you want to look casual, have and open shirt with a t-shirt underneath. Both are better options than whatever that is.” Jeff said, looking at his brothers’ sense of style with some disappointment, before setting the car in gear and driving off towards the mall.

“Nice! I’ve never bought clothes before.” Will admitted, excited to finally be taken shopping.

“You know, that explains a lot. Take that as a second lesson. Try new things, buy some stuff for yourself, see what you like and don’t like. Third rule, dad sucks, so if he likes something it is probably awful.” Jeff said, trying to share some things he had learnt through the years. 

“Oh wow, thanks.” Will said, a bit in awe of all he was learning.

Ten minutes of awkward silence later, and they had made their way to clothing store Jeff often shopped from, in the hopes of finding something for his brother. Jeff headed straight for the assortment of shirts, and quickly found a few shirts.

“Go try these on.” Jeff said, and handed 3 shirts over to him.

“What? Here?” Will asked, not experienced with buying clothes at the store.

“No, you go in there, take off your clothes, and put on one of these. There’s a mirror in there so you can see how you look. If you need my opinion, I’ll be waiting outside.” Jeff said, pointing towards the changerooms with a slightly exasperated tone.

“Oh, okay. Sorry.” Will said, suddenly feeling a bit down about not realizing what Jeff meant.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault that he never showed you this, but it’s also not too late to learn. Now, go.” Jeff said, seeing how his words had brought his brother down a bit. 

Twenty minutes and the last fashion show Jeff ever imagined he would willingly encourage and witness later, and Will had ended up with 4 new shirts, 1 formal shirt and 3 more casual day to day shirts. In addition, he had gotten a few new t-shirts, and two pairs of jeans that fit him better. It hurt Jeff’s wallet to pay for it, but tried to justify it to himself as a way to make up for taking so long to reach out to him, and as some long overdue Christmas gifts. 

“Okay, next stop is a cosmetics shop.” Jeff said as they walked out of the store.

“What!? We’re buying makeup?” Will asked in shock.

“What? No. You need some skincare. We need to this fix _this._ ” Jeff said, pointing to Will’s face for emphasis.

“Oh. I guess I never really bothered about that. Thought it was cooler to not care.” Will said, explaining why he had just left his face be.

“That’s where you’re wrong. If you want to look attractive to others, then clean skin is important. I’ll teach you.” Jeff said, passing on his wisdom.

A few hours later, they found themselves in the bathroom of Jeff’s apartment. Will had been pretty much in awe by Jeff’s apartment, while Jeff thanked himself for cleaning the place up properly so he could make a proper impression on the rather impressionable brother of his. Last thing he wanted was to show that living in a dirty mess was cool.

After showing him how to use face scrub, explaining that face masks are okay (as long as you don’t tell your friends or show anyone that you own them), and emphasizing how important facial lotion is, Jeff ironed one of Will’s new shirts and handed it to him. 

“Put it on.” Jeff said without hesitation.

“What, now?” Will asked, confused as to why he needed to wear one of his new shirts right then and there.

“Yes, _now_. We’re heading out, so you’re going to look the part. Now go on, go get changed. And put on the new jeans too.” Jeff said, revealing the plans for the rest of the night.

Without a word, Will scurried into the bedroom to get changed. While Will changed, Jeff called a cab to pick them up in 20 minutes, before heading to the bathroom to get ready himself. Soon enough, they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Willy!!
> 
> Really nervous about how this turned out, Willy isn't the easiest character to write. I basically HC'd him as keeping his cool a bit better with his dad out of the picture, rather wanting to keep calm near Jeff, who reluctantly tries to help him out in his own way.


	4. Contemporary Basketcase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff and Will go hang out at a bar, stuff happens.

“Where are we heading? And why did I need to get so dressed up?” Will asked while they sat in the back of the cab.

“We’re heading to a bar called The Vatican. Britta works there. You remember her, right?” Jeff explained calmly.

“She’s the blonde that was there when you met dad, right?” Will asked for confirmation.

“Yeah, that’s her.” Jeff confirmed.

“Cool! She was kind of cute, think she’ll like me now?” Will asked, innocent as ever.

Jeff laughed a bit in response to hearing him say that.

“What, you don’t think she’ll like me?” Will asked, now feeling a bit more insecure.

“Hard to say, Britta’s standards are all over the place. But take it from me, she can be difficult, annoying, and she thinks she is far smarter than she actually is. And she thinks sex with her is something special, and never her fault when it isn’t great. Lots of work. Besides, she’s older than you, and she’s working tonight, so not like you’ll have much luck no matter who you are. We’ll find someone else.” Jeff explained in detail, talking from far too much experience.

“Oh, okay. If you say so.” Will said, a bit more down.

“Hey, there’s plenty of others you can meet. Just make sure you have a good time, don’t worry too much about Britta or anyone else’s approval.” Jeff said, trying to cheer him up a bit.

“Sorry to cut in on your little peptalk, though I’d love to hear some more about this blonde chick in bed, but we’re here.” The cab driver suddenly cut in, gesticulating out to the right.

“Right.” Jeff said, a bit put off by the bluntness of the driver, before fiddling around in his pockets to find some cash. Making sure to get as close as possible to the sum shown on the meter, Jeff handed him the money. “Keep the change.” He said as he stepped out, knowing that the change was a mere 0.37 dollars. Don’t get good tip for being a creep, he thought to himself. 

The duo headed inside, and Jeff went straight to the bar with Will in tow, hoping Britta was behind it. As luck would have it, she was. “Oh, hi Jeff, you’re back. I won’t serve you if you’re here to get drunk again.” Britta said with a sceptical look as she noticed him, really hoping he was over his unhealthy ways.

“I’m not. See, I even shaved.” Jeff said, pointing to his face. 

“Then why are you here?” Britta asked, before the answer appeared before her face. “Oh, hi Willy, nice to see you again.” 

“H-h-hi Britta. It’s Will now.” Will said, stuttering a bit.

“Oh. Will. I like it, sounds more mature.” Britta said, pondering over the name sounded when she said it.

“See, way better.” Jeff exclaimed upon hearing what Britta said.

“So, it was your idea, not his?” Britta asked, looking at Jeff pointedly.

“Maybe. Reminded me too much of a, you know.” Jeff said, gesticulating downwards.

“Ugh, men.” Britta said, rolling her eyes.

“You know you thought the same, Britta. You said it sounds more mature, so really, you agree with me. You just don’t like that I suggested it, because somehow you think that devalues it. Besides, I only said that _I_ would call him Will, what he wants others to call him is up to him.” Jeff responded, launching into a mini-speech to shut Britta down.

“Fine. What will you two have?” Britta asked, admitting defeat. 

“I’ll have a scotch, neat.” Jeff said, already knowing what he wanted.

“I’ll have uh…..same as him?” Will said, not really sure what to order.

“Not sure that’s the best place to start if you’re not used to it. I have an idea. Let Britta pick out some drinks for you tonight, see what you like and don’t like. Sound good?” Jeff suggested to him, not wanting Will to start off the night by choking on his drink.

“Oh….okay.” Will said, hesitantly agreeing with Jeff.

“Put it on my tab. But don’t serve him too much, okay?” Jeff said, turning to look at Britta.

“I’ll take care of him.” Britta said, her shit eating grin back on her face.

“Britta.” Jeff said, looking at her pointedly. He did not want to drag his drunk brother home.

“I won’t serve him too much, nor abuse your tab. I _promise_.” Britta said, reassuring Jeff. “Now, if you can shut up for a second, I can get you those drinks.”

“So, what do you do here?” Will asked, genuinely unsure.

“You drink, hang out and talk to people, maybe you talk to some girl you find cute, or maybe you just sit here listening to the music. Up to you, really. And each of the options are okay.” Jeff explained, trying to explain how hanging out at a bar was both simple and complicated at once.

“Oh, okay.” Will simply said. As he said so, Britta returned with a neat scotch for Jeff, and some colourful drink for Will.

After a few drinks, Will found himself walking to the bathroom, suddenly feeling a strong urge to pee. With him out of the picture, Britta decided to confront Jeff.

“You’re hanging out with your brother for the first time, and you take him drinking? Are you serious Jeff?” Britta said in a scathing tone.

“We’ve hung out for hours. I’m just letting him experience things, and drinking is completely normal for people his age.” Jeff said, not seeing the harm.

“He’s probably never been drinking, Jeff. He shouldn’t drink for the first time at a bar.” Britta countered.

“Which is why I asked _you_ to serve him. Besides, this place isn’t too noisy or crowded. It’ll be fine, have some faith.” Jeff countered back, essentially shifting responsibility onto her.

Will found himself sauntering back to the bar soon after, and Britta decided to satisfy her curiosity. “So, Will, what do you normally do?” She asked him as he sat back down.

“I uh, don’t really do anything. I’m done with school, but I don’t think I can get into college. Dad says I’m too dumb to do anything useful anyway.” Will said, feeling like a failure again.

“Oh, I have a great idea!” Britta said upon hearing that, not willing to open the hornet’s nest that was Will’s daddy issues right then and there (though she did file it away for later in her mind). “What if you start at Greendale? I’m sure you can get in. Me and Jeff can help you out if you need it.”

“You think I can do that? I don’t even know what I would do!” Will said excitedly but unsure, intrigued by the idea, but with no idea what do with it.

“Sure! Lots of people don’t have a clue what to do, you just make it up as you go. I’m sure you’d do well.” Britta said encouragingly.

“If even an airhead like Britta could get through a psychology major, you can too.” Jeff added.

“Hey!” Britta said, punching Jeff in the arm.

“What? It’s true.” Jeff laughed.

“I’ll think about it.” Will interjected, breaking off them from their little mini-fight.

“Great! I’m sure Jeff can help you out with applying, since he’s a professor.” Britta said, with Jeff staring daggers at her for saying that.

They sat there drinking and idly chatting for a good while, with Jeff slowly nursing his scotch, when Will suddenly decided to ask a question.

“Jeff, why aren’t you talking to any girls? I thought you’d be really good at that.” Will asked a bit out of the blue, seeing how his handsome older brother wasn’t even approaching anyone.

“Just not interested. You should go talk to someone though.” Jeff answered back, deflecting the question.

“What about her? You should totally go hook up with her!” Will said, pointing out an attractive blonde woman, with a body Jeff had to admit was impressive.

“First of all, don’t point at people. Secondly, still not interested.” Jeff said, averting his eyes away from where Will had been pointing, and back to his drink.

“Oh, wait. Do you have a girlfriend? WAIT, are you and Britta together!?” Will asked, like his mind was just blown by the theory he had just produced in his mind.

“We’re not together.” Britta interjected quickly, not wanting Will to think that for even a second.

“She’s right, we’re not. But look, there’s a girl, I don’t know where exactly we stand right now, but I’m just not interested in others right now. But seriously, go talk to her.” Jeff finally said, opening up just a tad about why he showed zero interest in anyone at the bar.

“You think I can!?” Will asked excitedly.

“Yes, just go talk to her. You’re dressed the part; the words will come by themselves.” Jeff said encouragingly.

Will stood still for a little moment, like he was pondering the words Jeff had just said to him. “Okay, I will.” The excited young man finally said, and walked off. 

Half a minute later, Will returned to the bar, looking a bit defeated. “She had a boyfriend.” He simply said, and picked up the vodka cranberry Britta had made him, downing it instantly.

“Woah there, calm down. You didn’t get a drink thrown in your face, nor did you get punched in the face, or kneed in the balls. You got turned down, but she had a good reason why, and it wasn’t anything related to you.” Jeff said reassuring him that it was okay.

“But she was so pretty!” Will said in frustration.

“There’s plenty of others out there. You’ll find someone else, someone that’s actually single.” Jeff said, laughing a tiny bit at how frustrated he was.

“Wish I could be more like you, and not be so emotional.” Will said with a slight hint of jealousy.

“Trust me, you do not want to be like me, I’m a mess. It’s okay to be emotional, just try not to take everything personal when it’s not meant to be.” Jeff said, trying to explain why being cold and emotionally unavailable wasn’t a good goal.

Will walked off wordlessly, again in the direction of the bathroom. Before Jeff could bother thinking about it, a young girl appeared beside him at the bar.

“Professor Winger?” The young brunette exclaimed, seemingly surprised at seeing him there.

“Sorry, do I know you?” Jeff asked, not recognizing her.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Amy, not one of your students, I just recognized you.” Amy said, smiling brightly.

“Nice to meet you, Amy.” Jeff said, trying to be polite.

“You know, I’m a bit surprised about seeing a professor here.” Amy said with a curious tone, which made Jeff unsure.

“Even professors get a drink sometimes.” Jeff responded quickly.

“Mmm, maybe I can buy you one?” Amy said, licking her lips a bit, which didn’t go unnoticed by Jeff. 

“That won’t be necessary.” He responded quickly, wanting to shut her down immediately.

Undeterred, Amy leant in to his ear and whispered. “You know, I’ve always wanted to be with a professor, especially a handsome one.”

“Not interested. Have a good night.” Jeff said, waving her off in slight annoyance. Amy walked off quickly, looking angry.

Britta stood behind the counter, blinking her eyes in slight shock. “Hm.” She finally just uttered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear even in a quiet room. Here she was, at the bar, and Jeff Winger had just turned down the chance to hit on what was an objectively attractive woman, all because of the possibility, not a guarantee, of maybe getting with Annie. It wasn’t certain that Annie would even return, yet here Jeff was, rejecting everyone just in case she would.

“You’ve changed.” Britta finally said out loud.

“What?” Jeff replied, a bit confused.

“The Jeff I met years ago would have gladly gone after that woman, and made up some elaborate lie to get her in bed. Yet you didn’t even look like you considered it.” Britta explained.

“Well, as I told Will, I’m just not interested.” Jeff shrugged.

“You really are putting all eggs in the Annie-basket.” Britta said, finally finding the words she lacked in her mind a moment earlier.

“That’s one way of putting it. Look, when you find that one….basket that you like more than any other, but it’s out of stock right now, but might be available in a few months….you wait. You don’t go around picking up other baskets in the meantime, you wait for the one you really want, because the others just aren’t appealing in comparison. I realize now that this analogy was awful, but I blame you for that.” Jeff said, launching into a slight Winger-speech.

“You’re in love.” Britta simply responded.

“What?” Jeff responded instantly, not even sure he heard that right.

“You are in love with Annie.” Britta repeated.

Jeff’s eyes were wide in shock upon hearing what Britta said. “Look, I…I don’t know what it is. But I’m not interested in hooking up with anyone here, so just drop it.” He stammered out, wanting to avoid the subject.

“Fine.” Britta conceded. It was probably wasn’t the right place for a conversation like that regardless.

A while later, Will returned, looking like death. 

“I think you better get him home, Jeff.” Britta said, chuckling a bit upon seeing the state of him.

“Yeeeea I think he’s seen enough for today.” Jeff agreed, and got out his phone to call a cab. Opting against trying to sneak him back to his dad’s place, Jeff brought them back to his own apartment, letting Will crash on the couch with a glass of water and a bucket beside it.

After cleaning up and settling down on his own bed, Jeff brought out his phone.

 _Hey, know it’s really late (sorry if I woke you up!), but I just wondered how the second week has been. Miss you._  
-Jeff Winger 2:06 AM


	5. Existential Dread and Parental Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreading Annie's response to his text, Jeff does what he does best. He distracts himself to avoid thinking about it.

After he hit the send-button, Jeff was hit with dread. He had just ended a message with “Miss you”. Could he really say that? He meant it, but wasn’t that something you told your girlfriend, not some friend that could maybe, _hopefully_ be more if the variables, as she so astutely put it, aligned? He wouldn’t be sleeping much that night, he knew that much.

By some miracle, he managed to get some shut-eye. Waking up at 8 AM, he stood up and made himself look okay. He walked out into the living room, and found his brother still sound asleep on the couch. Luckily the bucket was empty. Less cleaning to do later, he muttered out loud, happy there was no more puke to deal with. 

Ignoring him for now, he decided to start making some breakfast for himself. Opting for some eggs, he ate in silence, with Will still not waking up despite the noise he had made. With breakfast and a protein shake devoured, he went to find his gym bag. Essentially ready to go, he remembered that he had to get Will home.

“Will, wake up.” He said out loud, hoping it would do the trick. It didn’t. In another attempt, he stirred him lightly, and repeated what he just said.

“What dad, leave me be.” Will muttered out, eyes still closed.

“I’m not your dad, and you need to go back home.” Jeff said. That did the trick, as Will opened his eyes to find Jeff staring down at him.

“Oh, hi.” Will said, his mind starting to wake up again. 

“You need to get back home again; in case he somehow gets worried for you.” Jeff said.

“Can’t I stay here?” Will asked.

“No, you can’t crash on my couch. You need to go back home, and I’m heading to the gym.” Jeff said, his voice stern.

“Fine. I guess you don’t want me either.” Will said, pouting a bit.

“It’s not about that. I like my privacy, and I don’t know you enough either. If you really want to move out, think about what Britta said about school, you can live in the dorms on campus.” Jeff said, suggesting a solution to his problem.

“Wow, that sounds cool!” Will said excitedly.

“Sure. Now get up, I really want to go.” Jeff said, nodding his head towards the door.

“Can I at least eat first?” Will asked.

Jeff sighed, then went to the kitchen. Walking back to him, he threw a protein bar into his hands. “You can eat that on the way. But we’re leaving, now.” He said sternly.

Soon enough, Jeff had driven Will back home, stopping around the block from where he lived, handing him the bag with his new clothes and facial products. As soon as that was done, he headed to the gym, desperately feeling the need to get the lousy food he ate the day before out of his system.

A solid two hours of strength training followed by cardio later, and Jeff was on his way back home, freshly showered and read to crash on the couch for the remainder of the day. Back in the confines of his apartment, Jeff finally picked up his phone for the first time since he woke up, having decided to not bring it to the gym to avoid distractions. On his phone, he found multiple replies to some twitter post, a bunch of notifications, and the one message he actually cared about.

_Hi, I was asleep, so I didn’t see your message! (No, you didn’t wake me up, I slept through the speakers of Dildopolis, remember?) Second week has been great! They finally let me try out some of the equipment, putting into practice what I learnt at Greendale, and what they showed me last week. Miss you too!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 10:03 AM

Seeing her message sent a wave of relief through him. Saying “I miss you” hadn’t spectacularly backfired and led to a lot of awkwardness, rather she had just returned the sentiment. Jeff held his phone close to his chest, and just muttered “thank you”, to nobody in particular. Now he just had to figure out how to reply, several hours later. 

_That’s awesome! Was anything you learned at Greendale actually useful tho?_  
-Jeff Winger 11:53 AM

Hopefully she isn’t at work and will respond before tonight, Jeff told himself as he hit send on that message, realizing that it was early morning in DC when Annie had responded to him. As not to keep himself too focused on her message, he decided to check out the other notifications he had decided to skip right past. First off, he noticed that his mom had called. Deciding it was as good a distraction as he’d get, he called her right back.

“Hey mom, I saw you called. Was at the gym, so didn’t notice until now.” Jeff said, not bothering with introducing himself, as he assumed that she expected a call back.

“Oh, Jeffrey! So good of you to call back. I assumed you were sleeping, so I didn’t want to be of bother.” His mom said, sounding happy to hear from. 

“No, I just didn’t bring the phone with me to the gym, you’re not a bother to me mom.” Jeff reassured, knowing he hadn’t been good enough at keeping in touch with his mom after getting debarred. He had started to open up again, but it was a gradual process after feeling he had let her down by being just like his dad.

“That’s good. I was just wondering how summer break was for you so far?” She asked, revealing why she had called.

The question left Jeff a bit taken aback. How bad he had been doing for a short while wasn’t something which he was proud of, or really wanted to talk about, but he had promised himself after he got out of therapy that his mom deserved to hear the truth from him. “I uh, I had a rough week. People are just up and leaving, and I didn’t deal with it well.” Jeff said, hesitantly opening up a bit, not revealing many details.

“Oh. Who was it that left? And are you doing better now? Do you want to talk about it?” His mom asked, sounding worried.

“Annie and Abed. Abed moved to Los Angeles, and Annie has a summer internship with the FBI in D.C., and I uh….I don’t know if she’s returning or not.” Jeff said, feeling himself get nervous over saying the last part. Composing himself, he decided to continue before she could say anything. “And I am. I’m doing a bit better now. I was with my half-brother yesterday.” 

“That’s pretty far. I’m sure your Annie will be back though.” Doreen said reassuringly, picking up upon who Jeff really was worried over from the tone of his voice. “How was your brother?”

“Hopefully. He seems okay. He’s a bit odd, very unsure of himself and easily unsettled, but he seems like a nice guy. Tried to help him out with getting some new clothes, stuff like that. His dad hasn’t exactly done a great job helping him, sadly.” Jeff explained, trying to explain his impression of his somewhat quirky brother.

“I think you can help him, if you want to. His dad isn’t the best example for him, but maybe you can be. You’ve been through a lot, but you are far better than he ever was. That you’re even having this conversation with me, that you care so strongly for your friends and willingly hung out with your odd brother proves that. So, if you want to, you can help him out in your own way.” Doreen said, proud to hear that Jeff was helping out his estranged half-brother. 

“I’ll try. I think the clothes helped a bit; he seemed a bit more confident. Didn’t seem like he had ever gone shopping for clothes before. Also got him some skincare, his face was a mess.” Jeff said explained, noting Will’s change of attitude after getting some fresh clothing. He wasn’t completely changed, but something was better than nothing.

“How was William?” Doreen finally asked, still consciously not referring to him as Jeff’s dad, knowing that Jeff didn’t exactly approve of him.

“Didn’t see him.” Jeff answered instantly. “I told Will that I’d meet him at a nearby store, I’d rather not talk to his dad if it can be avoided.”

“I understand.” Doreen said, not seeing the point in continuing down that road. She knew he had met him a few years back, and that it hadn’t ended pretty. Part of her had been relieved upon hearing how it had turned out, especially given Jeff’s therapy. Last thing he needed was for his dad to reappear in his life as a poor role model, so Jeff completely rejecting him and getting the closure he needed had made Doreen happier than she cared to admit. She had kept tabs on William for years, just in case he had changed and could be part of Jeff’s life ever again, but what she had found was less than flattering. Jeff’s description of how he faked a heart attack to gain his sympathy only backed up what she already knew. But for that reason, she was also glad that Jeff was trying to help out his brother, before it would be too late.

“How are things at-“ Jeff began, before he was interrupted by the sound of a message.

“Jeffrey, is everything okay?” Doreen asked, a bit worried upon hear him just stop out of the blue.

“Oh, sorry. I got a message from Annie. As I was saying, how are-“ Jeff began yet again, before being interrupted yet again, this time by his mom.

“It’s okay Jeffrey, go talk with your Annie. We can talk later.” Doreen said, not wanting to keep him.

“You sure?” Jeff asked, just to be sure, choosing to yet again ignore how she referred to Annie. There was no way he would bite on that.

“Yes. Have a good day Jeffrey!” 

“You too.”

After hanging up, Jeff brought up his messages instantly, wanting to see Annie’s reply.

_Surprisingly much of it! But hearing about it and seeing it is obviously different from doing it, but they seem positive._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:17 PM

_That’s good lol. I’m sure you’ll crush it in no time._  
-Jeff Winger 12:20 PM

_I think crushing evidence is a bit frowned upon :P_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:21 PM

_Tsk, you know what I meant_  
-Jeff Winger 12:21 PM

_I did. Thank you for believing in me, it means a lot._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:22 PM

_Always. You’d be awesome at whatever you decided to do. Okay, maybe not at basketball, but pretty much everything else :D_  
-Jeff Winger 12:23 PM

_Jeff! Not everybody can be stupidly tall like you!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:24 PM

Jeff could imagine the feigned hurt on her face, and her frustrated voice as she wrote that. He missed her reactions to his teasing a lot, it often brightened his day when he could fluster her a bit.

_If everybody was ‘stupidly tall’, nobody would be tall. We need small people like you to be tall_  
-Jeff Winger 12:25 PM

_Don’t lawyer me, Jeff._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:26 PM

_Can’t promise I won’t_  
-Jeff Winger 12:27 PM

_How has your week been?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:28 PM

_Been alright. Mostly gone to the gym and watched tv. Hung out with my brother yesterday though_  
-Jeff Winger 12:29 PM

_Oh, interesting! How is he?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:30 PM

_He’s a bit odd, but he seems nice. Got him some new clothes and some skincare, and tried to teach him some tricks to be a bit sure of himself._  
-Jeff Winger 12:31 PM

_Hah, he really got the Jeff Winger experience then._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:32 PM

Upon seeing that, Jeff couldn’t resist not teasing her.

_Nah, the Jeff Winger Experience TM is reserved for beautiful women_  
-Jeff Winger 12:33 PM

_Jeff! That’s not what I meant._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:33 PM

_I know what you meant. :) Speaking of it, I brought him to The Vatican. He actually tried his luck with a woman._  
-Jeff Winger 12:34 PM

_Did he succeed with his newfound confidence?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:34 PM

_Nah, she had a bf_  
-Jeff Winger 12:35 PM

_That’s too bad. Wbu, did you get lucky?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:36 PM

_There’s no luck involved in what I do, only skill and impeccable charm. But no, wasn’t really trying._  
-Jeff Winger 12:37 PM

_Sure you didn’t._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:38 PM

_Hey! I actually had some student hit on me, but I turned her away._  
-Jeff Winger 12:39 PM

Jeff wasn’t exactly sure what to feel about revealing this to Annie. He was practically admitting to turning girls away and not trying to get laid, to the girl he was hoping he might end up with down the line if he waited. He just hoped he wasn’t sending her a weird message, or that she thought he expected the same of her. 

_Hah, not bad._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:40 PM

_Btw, can we just talk about how I let Britta serve my brother with the instruction of not getting him drunk? And do you know what she did?_  
-Jeff Winger 12:41 PM

_She abused your tab and got him drunk anyway?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:42 PM

_YES! She absolutely Britta’d my instructions. Had to let him crash on my couch with a bucket beside him because of her…_  
-Jeff Winger 12:43 PM

_Aw. So, you let a recipient of the Jeff Winger Experience stay for breakfast for once then._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:44 PM

_Hell no. Gave him a protein bar and drove him home on the way to the gym._  
-Jeff Winger 12:45 PM

_That’s so sweet!_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:45 PM

_Anyway, no work today since you’re on the phone?_  
-Jeff Winger 12:46 PM

_Got every other Saturday off. So today is recharge batteries in front of the tv day, and then I’ll plan a bit tomorrow. hbu?_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:47 PM

Sweet, important to recharge sometimes. Yesterday was pretty busy, and I’ve already been to the gym, so just going to crash on the couch for the rest of the day tbh  
-Jeff Winger 12:48 PM

_Sometimes. Not too often._  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:49 PM

_Agree to disagree. Anyway, been good talking to you. Have a great day!_  
-Jeff Winger 12:50 PM

_You too! <3_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 12:51 PM

Jeff sat there blinking at the last message. Had she just…..no…..had she just sent him a heart? She knew how that could be interpreted, right? But at the same time, it didn’t have to be romantic. Maybe she didn’t mean it like that. Jeff wasn’t sure what to think, as he put away the phone to stare emptily at his tv screen instead. Yet again, she had managed to send his brain into overdrive with a simple text message.


	6. Advanced Murphy's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everything that can go wrong, goes wrong.

A week later, Jeff found himself getting a phone call from the person he least wanted to talk to. 

“Hello Craig. It’s my holiday, I told you I’m not doing summer school.” Jeff said as soon as he picked up the phone.

“Oh, Jeffrey, this isn’t about _that_ , though I would love it if you reconsider. No, I’m calling because I got a very worrying message.” Dean Pelton said cryptically.

“Your cosplay store was out of stock?” Jeff asked, sounding disinterested.

“No, I got a complaint about you, Jeffrey.” The dean said, sounding very disappointed.

“Look, I know I was late grading one of the papers, but a complaint is a bit much don’t you think?” Jeff said, assuming that was the reason why.

“No, Jeffrey. I received a complaint from an Amy Williams, she claims that you sexually harassed her at a bar this past Friday.” The Dean clarified, still sounding very disappointed.

“ _WHAT?_ ” Jeff shouted out, anger and confusion mixed into one, as he jumped up from his seat on the couch and started pacing.

“Now, the school’s policy on sexual harassment is very strict-” The Dean began saying.

“That’s ironic.” Jeff muttered silently enough so the dean wouldn’t catch it, thinking of how inappropriate he had been himself through the years.

“So, for now you’ll be placed under administrative leave while we investigate. We will need a statement from you, and from any witnesses if you have any.” The dean continued.

Jeff stopped pacing for a second, enough to think rationally. “I have a witness who was there.” He responded.

“Oh, you do?” The Dean asked, almost sounding pleased. 

“Yes, Britta was there at work. She was there when it happened. I’ll call her, and then I’ll get back to you.” Jeff said, sounding somewhat stressed.

“Okay, you do that Jeffrey. Good luck!” The dean said, then hung up.

Jeff stood there, phone in hand, still pacing the room. “ _FUCK!_ ” He shouted out in frustration. How could this he happening to him? The one time he does absolutely nothing, someone makes up a lie, and for what? To spite him? He didn’t get it, he had rejected her, as was his right, and avoiding student-professor relationships was the general rule regardless. If he got fired over this, he wouldn’t just be done as a teacher, getting back to being a lawyer would also be really difficult.

Feeling like he wouldn’t get anything done by being mad, he decided to drop Britta a text.

 _Are you free? Need to call you asap_  
-Jeff Winger 2:14 PM

 _Yeah, I’m free_  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist 2:15 PM

Instantly, he called her up. “Jeff, is everything okay?” Britta asked right away, sounding worried.

“No, everything is not okay. Do you remember that girl that approached me at the bar last Friday?” Jeff asked, seeing if she remembered.

“Oh god, did you hook up with her anyway? I don’t want the details Jeff.” Britta said, sounding disgusted that he would call about something like that.

“What? No! I didn’t talk to her at all after that, but now she’s filed a complaint against me, she claims I sexually harassed her.” Jeff said, annoyed that Britta even reached that conclusion.

“Shit, that’s serious.” Britta said, tone now far more concerned.

“Yes, very. And you were there, you saw that she approached me, and that I sent her away before anything happened.” Jeff said.

“Let me guess, you need to me to witness for you?” Britta asked.

“Yes, I do. I can be fired for this, and I didn’t _do_ anything. I hate doing this, but please Britta, I need your help this time.” Jeff pleaded, hoping she would help him out.

“Of course, Jeff. I’ll help.” Britta said, agreeing without hesitation.

“Thank you. I need to call up the dean again, figure out how we’re going to do this. I’ll let you know once I know a bit more.” Jeff said.

“Okay. Are you okay, Jeff?” Britta asked, hoping he wouldn’t relapse again.

“I will be, as soon as this is dealt with.” Jeff responded, knowing what Britta was referring to. 

“Okay, just don’t…don’t drink.” Britta said, worried for him.

“I won’t. Talk to you later, Britta.” Jeff said, then hung up, eager to get to the next person he had to talk with.

Next, he wanted to prove that he didn’t talk with Amy for the rest of the night either, in case she tried to spin up a story about him talking to her after she walked away from the bar.

 _Hey, I need to talk with you, are you free for a call?_  
-Jeff Winger 2:29 PM

 _Yes!_  
-Weird Brother 2:31 PM

As soon as he saw the reply, Jeff called him up. “Okay, I’ll cut right to the chase. Last Friday, when we hung out, there was a girl that approached me at the bar when you went to the toilet after downing your vodka cranberry. I rejected her, and she left before you got back from the toilet. She has now filed a complaint about sexual harassment against me to the school where I work, since she’s a student there. I have Britta as a witness for the exchange, but I need you as a witness to prove that I didn’t talk to her for the rest of the night. Can you do that for me?” Jeff explained, dumping all the details on him at once.

“Uh, of course Jeff. I don’t remember too much, but I remember leaving pretty much as soon as I got back from the toilet? And you didn’t bring anyone else with you, I think.” Will said, trying to remember what happens.

“Great. Slightly drunk witness is still better than no witness at all. I’ll call you when I know more, okay?” Jeff said, thinking a bit out loud.

“Okay.” Will agreed.

“Oh, and thank you.” Jeff said, then hung up.

Pleased to have two witnesses, Jeff settled back down on the couch to breathe. This was far more stress than he felt like he needed on a random Thursday. His plan was to sit down and watch tv after his morning session at the gym. Maybe dream a little about what he wished his life would be. Instead, everything was suddenly hanging in the balance. If he got fired for sexual harassment, his professional life was as good as done, and there was no chance Annie would ever want to be with him. He felt he had a strong case, but just the threat of this was enough to scare to him. He had to fix this.

Determined, he called up the Dean again, who spoke first. “Jeffrey! I hope you have some good news for me now?”

Rolling his eyes about how cheerful the Dean was, Jeff responded. “I do. I have Britta and my brother Will as my witnesses for the whole night. Britta was there when Amy approached me, while my brother was there earlier in the night, and left to go home with me shortly after the alleged incident.” Jeff explained. “So, my question to you is: when can we get this situation resolved?” 

“Oh, that’s great! The plan is review what we know on Monday, so can you tell Britta and your brother to meet up at my office at Monday, just not at lunchtime?” The Dean asked.

“That should be fine, but I’ll let you know if it doesn’t work for them. If I say nothing, expect visitors on Monday.” Jeff said. 

“Will do. Talk to you then Jeffrey.” The Dean said, then hung up. He could not bear hearing Jeff like this, so tense and serious, and felt like he had to end the call. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if Jeffrey had to be fired. Jeffrey couldn’t have done such a thing, right? 

Surprised he managed to get the Dean off the phone without forcibly hanging up on him, Jeff laid back down on the couch again to think. He knew the Dean would most likely try to save him, and that he had witnesses who knew that he hadn’t done anything, but even the allegation was quite damning. And what would he tell Annie if she asked about his week? “Well I got accused of sexual harassment”? Hopefully, she wouldn’t ask. He for sure wouldn’t contact her, not until this was done.

The weekend went by without any word from her, luckily. He tried to keep up his normal life, but found himself distracted. He just hoped that Britta and his brother would be enough to clear him. Now, he found himself waiting outside of the Dean’s office, staring at the roof. Suddenly, Amy came walking out of the Dean’s office, with a smug look on her face. Jeff stared daggers at her in return. If the internal review didn’t go his way, he had already started to look into the possibility of a lawsuit. He wasn’t going to take this lying down. 

From the door, the Dean had seen the whole exchange of looks, and cleared his throat. “Jeffrey, you can come in now.” 

Jeff walked inside of the peculiar office, still decorated with various dalmatian things, and showing the rather…. colourful side of the Dean. It was a space which Jeff for the most part attempted to avoid, as he didn’t feel especially comfortable with his approaches at times. But now, he found himself hoping that the Dean could save his ass.

“I must say, it is DEAN-lightful that you could make it Jeffrey.” The Dean opened, with Jeff only giving him a looked that screamed “Seriously, are you doing that right now?”, so he decided to move on without making more puns. “I’ve had Amy and your two witnesses make statements about what happened so far. I would like you to do the same. I will be taping the statements, for the review process later. Is that okay?” 

“And you’re not using that as an excuse to listen to my voice later?” Jeff questioned instantly.

“Jeffrey! No, I need this to accurately review what has happened. This is not a decision I can make on the spot.” The Dean said.

“Fine, I agree to let you tape my statement.” Jeff said. Upon saying that, the Dean turned on the recorder and made the intro.

“This is the statement of one Jeffrey Tobias Winger regarding the recent allegation of sexual harassment of the student Amy Marie Williamson at the bar known as The Vatican.” The Dean began, then waved his hand to indicate that Jeff could begin speaking.

Jeff delivered a long and detailed recollection of the whole day, recalling specific details and conversations he had earlier in the day, and went into extreme detail about what he did at The Vatican. It took quite a while, but finally Jeff considered himself done with his recollection of the day. 

“That was very….interesting. Thank you, Jeffrey. I will likely need a few days to review all of this, but I thank you for your cooperation with my investigation. Off the record, I am glad you were able to so strongly DEAN-y the allegations.” The Dean said after saving the recording.

“That doesn’t work, it’s still pronounced the same.” Jeff said, rolling his eyes at the awful pun. “Either way, I hope to hear from you soon. See ya.” He said, and went to leave.

“Bye Jeffrey!” The Dean said in return.

Jeff drove himself home, in a shroud of thoughts, most of them very worried. He knew he had an iron clad case, but he also knew he was up against what was pure fabrication. What if her story was so convincing that the Dean believed her? As he entered the door to his apartment, he felt his phone vibrate, and it wasn’t stopping. He was getting a phone call. Jeff pulled it up, and looked at the phone – it was Annie.

Jeff scrambled to take off his jacket, and accepted the call. “Hi Annie.” Jeff said right away, trying to be as polite and casual as he could be.

“Hi Jeff. I just got off the phone with Britta, and uh, she told me that you’ve been accused of sexual harassment by a student. What the fuck Jeff? Were you even going to tell me?” Annie said with an angry tone. He could imagine her eyes as she said it, a look of death in the normally so friendly and expressive eyes of hers.

“I uh, yeah. I just got back from the inquiry the Dean is doing into it. Let me first say though, that I didn’t do it. I swear to you, I did not do it. I don’t get why this is happening, it just doesn’t make sense to me.” Jeff said, taking a second to process that she knew about it, or some of it at the very least.

“Britta told me that you didn’t do anything, and I believe you, but why didn’t you tell me anything? This is serious, Jeff. This can hurt your career badly.” Annie said, sounding frustrated.

“I know it can, Annie. I’ve been worried out of my mind ever since the Dean informed me about it, and I still am.” Jeff admitted, knowing she had him on his back foot.

“Then why didn’t you tell me about it? I want to be there for you, Jeff.” Annie said, her voice still laced with frustration so evident that he could imagine her face, full of hurt.

“I don’t know, Annie. I hoped it would just get resolved, and then I could tell you about it later.” Jeff said, struggling to explain himself.

“And what if it didn’t? Were you going to tell me then?” Annie asked, sounding hurt.

Jeff found himself pacing the room, not saying anything right away. “I don’t know.” He finally said, completely lost for words. Normally, he would have started a speech, maybe tell her that it was private, launch into a speech about how he was set up and that this was much ado about nothing. But he couldn’t.

“That’s all you have to say?” Annie said, and he could hear how annoyed she was with him.

“I really don’t know, Annie. I don’t know what I would have done. I have no idea how I would even say it. How do you tell someone that you’ve been accused of sexual harassment?” Jeff admitted, feeling like his back was up against the wall now.

“I don’t know, Jeff. But sometimes, you just need to say it, say _something_. You need to let me in. It doesn’t work if all we ever talk about is what’s comfortable, sometimes you need to talk about the things that hurt, Jeff.” Annie said, and Jeff could swear that she was almost talking about this like she wanted openness Jeff associated with a relationship.

“I know…. it’s just….I guess I was afraid.” Jeff finally admitted.

“Afraid of what?” Annie asked instantly.

“Afraid of losing you. That if I told you what was going on, you wouldn’t want to talk to me again.” Jeff continued, revealing one of his biggest fears, and the real reason why he didn’t say anything. At that moment, he felt naked. And not the kind he wanted to be when talking with her. She had pulled out what he feared the most, and it hurt.

“Jeff… I wouldn’t just abandon you. I believe in you, I think you’re a good person, and I know you wouldn’t do something like that. I just wish…. I wish you knew that, or remembered it so that you don’t hide the truth from me just because it isn’t pretty or comfortable.” Annie said, and he swore he could hear a slight sniffle from her.   
“I know….I’m sorry Annie…” Jeff said, voice low, almost broken. 

Annie remained silent for a while, the silence deafening for Jeff. He sat there, holding his phone, hoping she would say that it was okay. But it didn’t happen. Finally, Annie spoke up. “I’ll talk to you some other time. Good night, Jeff.”

“Good night, Annie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'd like to acknowledge that this chapter probably is somewhat controversial, as the subject matter of sexual harassment can be very sensitive, as is a false accusation. I won't be digging into the motivations of the accusor, as that's not the story I want to tell. I hope you as the reader are OK with this chapter, but if you aren't, it's okay to let me know that.


	7. Remedial Speech Making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feeling like hell after a week of emotional struggles, Jeff makes one last attempt to reach out to Annie.

It had taken a while, but by Friday, Jeff had been cleared of all accusations. The witness recollections of Britta and Will had matched up well with Jeff’s, while Amy’s had both lacked detail and other witnesses. As a result, the Dean had decided that the matter wasn’t worth pursuing further, and officially reinstated Jeff from his administrative leave. Yet Jeff could not bring himself to care. For days now, he had hoped that Annie would reach out to him, so they could clear the air. She was right. He knew she was, but there was no way he could open up more if she wouldn’t even talk to him.

He sat there in bed, staring at his texts from the past week.

 _Hey, I’d just like to say that I’m really, really sorry for not telling you. I should have, and I’m sorry._  
-Jeff Winger, Tuesday 1:27 PM

 _I know you likely don’t want to hear from me right now, but again, I’m really sorry. I fucked up. I often do. I need to be better at letting you know what’s going on, and I promise you that I’m trying._  
-Jeff Winger, Wednesday 11:44 AM

 _The Dean just told me that the case has been dropped. Mine, Britta and Will’s recollections added up, while the other one apparently was very inconsistent. I’ve been reinstated again, which is a massive relief._  
-Jeff Winger, Thursday 4:53 PM

He had tried once a day, to see if she would respond to him. So far, he didn’t have any luck whatsoever, and it had started to mess with him. Had he really blown it? Had he pissed her off so badly that she didn’t want to talk with him again? Desperate, he decided to try again.

 _I really want to talk to you. Please call me_  
-Jeff Winger, Friday 10:23 PM

It sounded desperate, he knew it did, but he truly felt that way. The wait for a resolution and Annie’s anger at him had taken its toll on him for the past few days. He had slipped back into the habits of the first week after she left, but had opted for a different bar to get drunk at, as he didn’t want to see Britta right now. Britta had tried to reach out to him herself.

 _Jeff, I’m sorry if I told Annie something you didn’t want me to. I assumed she knew, and once I mentioned witnessing for you, I had no other choice but to tell her everything._  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist, Monday 7:31 PM

Just like Annie had done to him, he had decided to ignore it. It wasn’t Britta’s fault, she was right to assume that Annie knew, but he just did not want to talk with her right now. Unless it was Annie, he didn’t give a crap.

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. Annie. “Hello?” Jeff said, hesitantly.

“It’s me, Annie. You wanted to talk. So talk.” Annie said, in a sour tone.

“Oh…okay. First of all, I’d like to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not telling you about what was going on, for not being good at letting you know what’s going on with me in general. You’re right, I do hide things that aren’t comfortable. I was afraid, but in the process of protecting myself, I hurt you. I need to be better, and I promise you that I will try to be. To prove that, or to begin doing that, I’m going to tell you something. It’s related to you, which is why I avoided telling you. After you left, I was really down. I know I said that I’m letting you go, and I meant that, but the kiss….it made me want more. But I also know that I have to let you go see the world, outside of this madness, and not make you feel obligated to me as you do. But doing that….it hurt, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. 

First, I thought that I should avoid talking to you, to let you have some space to figure things out. So, I did. But I missed you, and at the same time, I didn’t have any work to do, anything to do, really. So, I started drinking. And then I drank more, and more, and more, just to make me not think about the fact that I let you leave, when all I wanted was follow what my heart said. It took Britta talking some sense into me to make me stop, and to finally text you. When I told you in that text that the week had been boring, I did that to avoid telling you the truth.

After that, I genuinely did better. I lived normally, went to the gym like I usually do, and ate well. I stayed clear of drinking. Even poured a half full bottle scotch down the drain. I hung out with my brother, for the first time ever, at the suggestion of Britta. I made sure not to meet my dad though. I’d rather not deal with him if possible. But then I heard from the Dean about the alleged sexual harassment. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought that my career would be finished, that my friends would avoid me, and that you wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore. I realize now that thinking like that was stupid, and I’m really sorry. 

These past few days, I’ve fallen into bad habits. It felt like everything I built up around me started collapsing, and so I relapsed back to drinking again. It’s stupid, I know it is, but I guess I’m too afraid to face reality. I’m thinking of contacting my therapist again, to deal with things better than I currently do. I realize now that I’m rambling. This is probably the worst Winger speech I have ever given, so I’m sorry I made you listen to that. I just wanted you to hear this, so I’ll leave you alone now.” Jeff said, divulging his deepest fears and issues to her, like he had wanted to do for most of the week. 

Annie remained silent for a few seconds, processing all that Jeff had told her. “Jeff……thank you. Thank you for saying that. That’s all I wanted you to do. I wanted you to be honest with me, and now you were. I don’t want you do leave me alone. I want to hear and see those sides of you, because even if it hurts, they’re still you. And if I can help make things just a little bit easier, then I want to do that. But I think you should call your therapist, and try to find better ways to deal with things. But thank you, for letting me in. It really does mean a lot to me.” She then said, sniffling slightly. 

Jeff was completely awestruck. Had she just heard him out, all of his issues and horrible coping mechanics, without turning him away? “Annie…thank you.” He barely managed to get out, feeling like his tongue was stuck.

“For what?” Annie asked, a bit confused.

“For listening.” Jeff managed to say, his voice still weak.

“Of course, you idiot. I always wanted to listen; you just wouldn’t let me. So please, let me continue to listen." Annie said with a slight chuckle, the tension between them much lighter.

"I will. I promise." Jeff said, meaning what he said. 

"I need to go now, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you need me. Talk to you soon, okay?” Annie said, asking so she knew he would do it.

“Okay, I’m going to contact my therapist now. Goodnight, Annie.” Jeff said, feeling like a burden had been taken off him

“Good night Jeff.” Annie said before she ended the call, sounding happier than she had when the call began.

Jeff laid down on the couch wait a big smile on his face, and stared up at the roof with his head on an emerald green pillow he could not recall ever buying. Remembering to do what he had told Annie, he brought out his phone to text his therapist.

 _Hi, Jeff Winger here. Know it’s been a while, but I was wondering if you had available time soon. Thanks in advance._  
-Jeff Winger 10:56 PM


	8. The Psychology of Abandonment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff talks to his real therapist, and together they try to dig into his fears.

_Hi Jeff. You can come on Monday in little over a week, at 2 PM. Does that work for you?_  
-Actual Therapist, Saturday 9:11 AM

Currently, life was good for Jeff. It had been a week and a half since he got told that he wasn’t going to get fired, or face any repercussions for the alleged incident. He had even managed to smooth things over with Annie, having spoken with her a few times since then, encouraged by the knowledge that she did want to know what was going on with him. He had made sure to call her more, finding that he missed listening to her passionate rambling about the things she cared about. Text just wasn’t the same, even if it was still uniquely Annie.

Things between them seemed to be doing better now, and he had been completely honest with her. Even telling her straight up that he missed her a lot was okay. She knew that he really wanted her to return, but he had made sure to say that she is in control of her own life, and shouldn’t make decisions based on him. Annie on her part had detailed her new workdays, and how her responsibilities were increasing more and more. It was a high-pressure environment, in which it was imperative that you avoided mistakes, which she had made a few of early on. Her supervisor had however been complimentary about how she had learnt from them, and not repeated them. Jeff wasn’t surprised by that; Annie had been a fast learner as long as he had known her. Even at paintball, she was outright unfair at times.

Jeff had even responded to Britta, after ignoring her text initially. 

_Hi Britta, I’m sorry for ghosting your last text. I had a fight with Annie, and didn’t take it too well. Things are better now, so don’t worry about that. You were right to assume that I she knew, because she should have. But she didn’t, and that’s on me. I should have told her, but opted against it, and she was rightfully mad about that._  
-Jeff Winger, Saturday 10:32 AM

 _I’m glad to hear that things are better again. I hope you’re OK._  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist, Saturday 1:03 PM

 _I am. Or I’m doing better, at least. Helped to get that case resolved quickly, and to resolve things with Annie. Heading to my therapist in a week though, my REAL therapist, got some things I need to resolve._  
-Jeff Winger, Saturday 1:05 PM

 _That’s good. Been trying to help obviously, but I’m probably too close to you to be as objective as I need to be._  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist, Saturday 1:06 PM

 _Absolutely. Some of it is a bit awkward to talk to you about, even if you did manage to help with some things. And it hurts to admit that you did help, so don’t get used to it._  
-Jeff Winger, Saturday 1:06 PM

 _Aw, that’s so sweet. That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me._  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist, Saturday 1:07 PM

 _Don’t get used to it. This is as good as it’s gonna get._  
-Jeff Winger, Saturday 1:08 PM

 _lol, ok. Cya Winger, was good hearing from you_  
-Annoying Wannabe Therapist, Saturday 1:09 PM

Clearing things up with Britta was important to him. She was the last person left in Greendale from the group that he truly considered a friend. He knew others, but it was easier to hang out with Britta. It was odd to see her admit to being too close to him to truly play therapist, but he was glad to see her admit it. And it was by text, so if she ever claimed to never have said it, he’d have proof. Just to make sure, he took a screenshot of the conversation. She likely couldn’t delete it anyway, but best to be sure. Regardless, Britta trying to blend the roles of friend and therapist had made things a bit odd between them, not to mention the strain of having a casual sexual relationship at times during the years. He knew those days were over, but it was nice to have the last role confusion resolved.

In the interest of honesty, he had also contacted his mom again. He had explained what had happened, and she appeared sympathetic about the work-situation, but agreed that he should have told Annie if he wants to move beyond just a friendship. She had put in a way that had stuck in his mind. “You obviously care a lot about her, it seems like you want to be there for her. But you need to let her care about you, and let her help you like you do to her. It has to go both ways, or else you will never get anywhere.” He realized that now. Part of not treating Annie like she’s a kid, also involves letting her know about the things that are real and painful to himself. Needless to say, his mother also wanted him to tell her about things a bit earlier, still wanting to be part of her son’s life.

Lastly, he had texted Annie earlier that same day.

 _Good morning Annie, hopefully I don’t wake you up with this. I’m heading to the therapist later today, just figured I would let you know_  
-Jeff Winger 9:03 AM

 _Good morning Jeff! You didn’t, I’m up to get ready for the morning shift. Either way, waking up to a good morning text is as good a way as any to be woken up! Glad to hear that, good luck!! :D_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 9:04 AM

 _Thanks! Have a nice day at work :D_  
-Jeff Winger 9:05 AM

Jeff sat there in the reception area of his therapist’s office, waiting. He had been reviewing the events of the past few weeks in his mind, trying to piece everything together. He had screwed up, partly because of himself, partly because of circumstances beyond his control. Either way, his response to when things got tough wasn’t healthy. Turning to drinks and shutting people out wasn’t the way to do it. He was just glad the people closest to him hadn’t locked the door.

Looking through his messages, and replaying phone calls from past week or so helped him remember that he had people there for him, if he would just let them in, as Annie so astutely put it. She always did have a way to bypass his defences. Looking at his short exchange with her earlier in the day, he couldn’t help but have a slight smile on his face. He would nail this therapy thing.

A person he didn’t recognize walked out of the door to the therapist’s office, avoiding eye contact as he left the building. A few seconds later, the door opened again. “Jeff?” His therapist asked, signalling that it was his turn.

Jeff nodded, then stood up and walked inside. He sat down on the couch, having already been through this before. 

Remembering Jeff’s preference of getting straight to the point, his therapist did just that as he sat down in the chair facing the couch. “So, it’s been a long time since you’ve stopped by. Last time, according to my notes, we spoke about your father. Is your return related to that?” The therapist asked, bringing out a fresh notepad as he said it.

“No, it’s not. I’ve dealt with that, I met him, and decided he’s not worth having in my life. I got the closure I needed.” Jeff explained, thinking back to how awful his dad turned out to be.

“Okay.” He said, and scribbled down something. “Then, if you are able to, can you describe what led you to feeling the need to contact me?”

“It started a few weeks ago. I’m a professor at Greendale, where I used to study, so I had a few friends there. At the end of this semester, two friends of mine left, one of them a girl I’ve had feelings for a long time now. I tried to tell her how I felt, but couldn’t really get the right words out. I told her that I let her go, but we kissed anyway, without really committing to anything. She has an internship, so she’ll be away for a while, and I have no idea if she’ll return. So, we agreed not to do anything. After she left, I started drinking, and it kind of spiralled from there.” Jeff explained, recalling the events of the first week after Annie left, and providing enough background info for it to make sense.

“That sounds very complicated. Are you afraid that she won’t return?” The therapist asked directly.

“Yes. I know she’ll be successful there, and so they’ll want to keep her. And then I’ll be stuck here, when what I want to do is to be with her. I know I did the right thing in letting her go there, but it hurts. A part of me wishes that she stayed her just to be with me, even as selfish as that sounds.” Jeff continued, having decided that he would open up completely. First time around in therapy, he had been hesitant. This time, he felt his own resolve and determination leading him to revealing everything.

“That is a perfectly normal way to feel. Someone you care about leaving is never easy, and feeling that you’d rather want them to stay than pursue their ambitions is normal. That you left things so open in the air naturally adds to this. But you mentioned things spiralling, can you elaborate?” The therapist said, reassuring Jeff that it was perfectly normal.

“Well, a friend of mine discovered what I was doing, the drinking and not taking care of myself. She spoke some sense into me, and I acted well for a bit. From her suggestion, I even hung out with my half-brother. We spent a day together, and we ended up at the bar where my friend works. While there, I was approached by a younger girl, a student at Greendale, where I work. I turned her away, and thought nothing more of it. And for a week, everything seemed fine. I lived my life just as I normally would. But then I was contacted by the Dean of the school, who said that the school had received a complaint about sexual harassment by me, from the student that approached me at the bar.” Jeff recalled, his therapist looking on intently. Jeff drew a quick breath, then continued. “Over that weekend, I talked with the two people I knew could witness for me, and on that Monday, we all gave our versions of the events to the Dean. I knew I could get fired if things went badly, but I tried to think rationally about it, and use my lawyer experience to best show my innocence. I left there, feeling like I had done what I could. But then I got a phone call, from Annie.” 

“Annie is the girl that left, I assume?” The therapist asked, for clarification.

“Yes. She had spoken to the other friend I mentioned, who witnessed for me. She had learnt about what had happened from her, and wasn’t happy. She was mad that I hadn’t told her about it. We had a fight about me never telling her stuff like that, and I apologized to her for not letting her know. However, she ended the call. After that…. I kind of broke. I drank again, badly. I managed to finally get a hold of her later that week, the same night I messaged you. We sorted things out, and I told her everything that I’ve just told you.” Jeff explained, finally getting to the end of the backstory.

“Right. I think you’re wrong.” The therapist said.

Jeff sat there with a puzzled face. Had he just been called wrong by his own therapist? “What?” He finally managed to get out his mouth, his mind too much of a mess to produce a better way of saying it.

“You said this isn’t related to your father, but I think it is. It ties together with what we discussed when you were last here, which is that you felt abandoned by him. You managed to overcome that feeling regarding him, but now your friends are leaving. You mentioned that you are, and I quote, “stuck here”, while she left to pursue her ambitions. You let her go, but with the hope that she returns. Your fear is that she won’t ever come back, while you regret letting her ever leave, in essence repeating the process of someone you care about leaving you behind. Does that sound right?” His therapist said, starting to theorize what Jeff’s real fears were.

“Right, I guess.” Jeff said, feeling like there was more to this speech.

“The event at the bar wasn’t what “broke” you, as you put it yourself, you handed that as well as you could be expected to. But by not being open with her, and hiding the truth, you thought you had hurt her so badly that she wouldn’t return to you even if things doesn’t work out with her internship. And in doing so, you felt like you were alone.” The therapist continued, as Jeff expected. He didn’t mince his words one bit, this was the unfiltered truth, but it was what he knew he had to hear.

“Yes. I….I think she’s my best shot at happiness. That might come off a desperate or clingy, but I regret not telling her sooner, and not telling her in a better way when she did leave.” Jeff explained.

“Then I think you need to tell her how you really feel.” The therapist countered instantly.

“It’s not that easy. I don’t want to make her feel like she’s tied to me or this place. She deserves to see what’s out there, and then decide.” Jeff responded in turn, not seeing it as simple as his therapist did.

“Okay. But I think you need to evaluate for yourself what you feel most tied to. Is it her, or are you most tied to this place? You said you were stuck here, but are you really? If you really wanted, could you leave if she ended up permanently elsewhere?” The therapist asked him directly.

“Hmmm….possibly? If that meant being with her, I think I would.” Jeff said, clearly needing to think it over.

“Then I think you need to keep that in mind. That if she doesn’t return, it doesn’t need to be the end for you. I’m not going to tell you that there’s other fish in the sea, or some stuff like that, because if you feel strongly enough about someone to move across the country, then you know specifically what you want. But she is not abandoning you. Rather, based on her reaction to you not telling her things, it seems like she wants you closer. It’s only your mind telling you that she wants to leave you. Instead, focus on what’s actually happening. Keep that in mind, and try to be more open and honest. And if she returns, you need to be honest with yourself and her about what you want. If she doesn’t, then you need to evaluate what you want to do. But it doesn’t have to be the end, not unless she says it is.” His therapist said, trying to give Jeff some advice about what to do.

“Right. That makes sense. I’ve already been trying to be more honest with her, after we spoke.” Jeff said, noting that he had made some positive steps.

“Good, keep that up. Honesty is important, and that includes not hiding the truth. But I think that’s all the time we have for today. However, I feel like we still need to talk more about abandonment. I have time on Tuesday next week, same time. Does that work for you?” The therapist asked him, not feeling like they got through everything they needed to.

“Okay, that should work.” Jeff agreed, and started to get up, thinking that it would be best to keep going. He wouldn’t be fixed in half an hour, after all. 

“Great. You’ll get a message with confirmation soon, and then a reminder the day before, just in case. I will see you then. Have a good day.” The therapist said, just so Jeff wouldn’t be surprised.

“Likewise. See ya.” Jeff said, and then pushed open the door to leave. He walked out to his car feeling good about things. He felt it had been a productive session, where he had been able to unload everything that had happened recently. Some good points had been raised, and he felt even more strongly about what he wanted to do as a result. Feeling his resolve strengthened, he set off to make use of the day. First off – washing his car.


	9. Alternative Family 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distracted from work, Jeff lets his mind run away from him for a moment, before reality pulls him back to it.

Summer had gone by faster than expected, with autumn and school now looming on the horizon. As a professor, that meant he had to do actual work. That meant suddenly finding himself in faculty meetings to plan the coming year, and resuming online communication with the returning students so they had an idea of what was ahead. It was a part of the job that Jeff didn’t exactly love, but coming from the situation of being a student himself, he could recognize how much easier it was when the professors communicated openly and clearly with the students. He never really checked that stuff himself, but through Annie he knew which professors were lousy at it, and who weren’t, and how frustrating it was to her when things were unclear. Personally, he only ever checked the schedule and what books he needed to buy, but for the students a bit more invested than he was himself, he would put in the effort to let them know what was going on.

Unfortunately, that also meant he had to spend a lot of time reading through books he would rather be without for a while. But since this was the first time teaching third year students, he was required to be familiar with the syllabus, and in the case of one grossly outdated book he hated after two chapters, to find a completely new book. The added work meant that his routine of gym and tv-watching from earlier that summer had gone out the window, but in some sense, it was a good thing. Doing work had distracted him somewhat from his longing to be with Annie. He had come to terms with them basically being on pause until they knew more about the future, as difficult as it was. In the end, there was nobody else to blame for that predicament other than himself. He had six years to do something, but didn’t do anything until he felt her slip out of his grasp. But as his therapist had put it, “You can’t change the past, but the future is yet decided.”

Therapy overall was going well. Jeff had gone once a week, and so far, they had spoken at length about Jeff’s fear of abandonment. 

“Last time, we talked about Annie leaving, and how your response to that relates to your father. Today, I would like to ask about the second person that you briefly mentioned left at the same time.” His therapist opened the second session with, keen to get right to the point. As he had once told Jeff in his first round of therapy a few years earlier, time is of the essence when you have 30 minutes per patient.

“Oh, you mean Abed?” Jeff asked before thinking, realizing as soon as he said it that only he would know the answer to that question.

“I assume so.” His therapist replied with a mildly amused tone.

Jeff threw up a sheepish smile, then composed himself. “Right, Abed. Abed left to go pursue a career in movies, television. That kind of thing. Wants to be a director.” He explained, to give some context as to why he left.

“Right. But he left, and possibly might never return. How does that make you feel?” His therapist asked, seeing as Jeff hadn’t really focused on Abed nor shown any specific emotion about it.

“Well, I’m not happy about it, but I don’t love it either. It feels like the group is…done, really. It’s just me and Britta left. I miss Abed and his references. He makes some damn good movie and series recommendations too. I should ask him if he has one. Anyway, at the same time I know he’s only a text away if I want to talk to him. I don’t think we have one of those high maintenance friendships that needs to talk constantly.” Jeff explained, trying to make sense of his friendship with Abed. 

“Okay. You are in essence fine with him leaving?” His therapist asked to clarify.

“Outside of it meaning that the group is now reduced to a duo, yes.” Jeff responded.

His therapist scribbled something on his pad, then spoke. “You’ve mentioned a group. Were there more people in it that left?” 

“Yes. Troy, Shirley and Pierce.” Jeff confirmed.

“Can you explain the circumstances of them leaving?” 

“Okay, so Pierce was the first one who ‘left’ the group. He died a few years ago. He was….a very unique man. Older guy, very homophobic. It’s sad to say it, but I don’t really miss him. He had his moments where he amused us, but some of the things he said were just outright offensive. So as much as he was part of the group, I don’t really miss him. But he’s important for context, because as part of his will, the group all got individual gifts, as long as we met certain requirements. In the case of Troy, he would receive quite a few million dollars, I don’t remember the exact sum, if he sailed around the world. Troy agreed, and we simply haven’t seen him since. I really do hope he’s okay, wherever he is right now. Especially for Abed’s sake. Those two were very close, so it’d crush him if something happened to Troy. Shirley left around a year ago, and moved to Atlanta for family reasons.” Jeff explained, feeling like he had talked for a while.

“Okay, so moving past Pierce, what did you think about Troy leaving?”

“They both had good reasons. Troy could be set for life, and got a free excuse to see the world. Or a lot of sea, anyway. I hope he’s fine, and returns someday. As for him leaving, it was understandable, even if it did sound crazy. But if he doesn’t return, then I’d feel very sad about it. Sad that it happened because of the machinations of this crazy old man, and that I didn’t do more to stop him. But I have missed him. He’s a good guy, and it was nice to have someone in the group to talk some sports with.” Jeff explained, his voice cracking slightly upon thinking that Troy might never return.

“What about Shirley?” 

“Shirley….she couldn’t return to school regardless, due to her father getting sick. I don’t blame her for prioritizing that, given that her relationship with her ex and her kids had deteriorated due to her business. She and I weren’t super close, as we found that what we bonded the most over was mocking people behind their back. It wasn’t exactly a good thing to do, so we stopped. She was more of a mother figure, really, trying to look out for everyone else. But I think it was probably for the best that she got some distance, so she can focus on herself and her family. But her leaving also felt like the beginning of the end of the group. Suddenly, there was just me, Annie, Abed and Britta left. We had some other people join in a group we had made a year earlier to help improve Greendale, but it just wasn’t the same.” 

“It seems that you care a lot about the group as a whole, that you want to keep the group together. Is that correct?” 

“I guess, yes. It became like a second family, in a way. And then we just slowly split up again. It’s natural, and understandable, but I still miss it.” Jeff confirmed.

“That’s understandable. Sometimes, it can feel like you get a second home when you’re with friends. You feel like you can be yourself. But then if that stops, you can feel left alone, which a lot of people struggle to deal with. Next time, I want to focus on methods you can use in those moments where you might feel alone.”

Jeff recalled his second session vividly, remembering how he had worked through his emotions regarding the group, and how his social life had slowly deteriorated with people leaving. Before Greendale, his social life was with his fellow lawyers. But then the study group had taken over a lot of that, and soon he never talked with his old lawyer friends again, realizing how they were bad influences on him. But now, as people were leaving, he felt alone again. He had since worked on methods to deal with that, how to defeat that thought in his mind, but there was still one question mark left. The Annie of it all.

Suddenly, he was broken away from his thoughts by the sound of his phone vibrating on the desk. 

_Hi, are you free later? Need to talk to you_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 5:51 PM

 _I am. Call me when you can_  
-Jeff Winger 6:03 PM

Realizing that his mind had side-tracked him completely from his book about contractual law for his class in the subject the coming semester, he decided to resume his work, despite how curious he was about Annie’s text. An hour later, she called.

“Hi.” Annie said hesitantly, and Jeff could her nervousness in her voice.

“Hey. Annie, is everything okay?” 

“I uh, I’ve been thinking.” Annie started to say, clearly hesitating, her voice shaky.

When she didn’t continue, Jeff jumped in. “About what? Annie, you’re worrying me.”

“Sorry. I’ve been thinking about work. I feel like it’s going well, but part of me can’t shake this feeling that going from Greendale to the FBI is too much. Why would they pick me, when there’s others from much better schools interning here with me? And I guess I’m just worried that I’ll end up finishing this, and not know what to do afterwards.” Annie said, opening up a bit about her fears.

“Annie, it will be okay. I know that, because you’re you. You’re Annie Edison, and no matter what, you’ve always landed on your feet in the end. You’re there because you deserve to be there, because you’re the brightest, most diligent person I know. It doesn’t matter what schools the others came from; you are there on merit.” Jeff responded, trying to make sure she knew that things would be fine.

“Yes, but there’s all these rumours that they don’t really need any more forensics people right now, and I just fear that I’ll end up completing this and be left with nothing.” Annie said, sniffling audibly at the end.

“Annie. I promise you; you will be fine. Even if the rumours are true, they’ll see how smart you are and how hard you work. At the very least, it’ll be a very good thing to have on your CV, and I guarantee you that you will get a recommendation. And if a position opens up, they will have you in mind.” Jeff said, reassuring her that things would be fine.

“Jeff…you don’t know that.” Annie responded, still doubting herself.

“I do. I know that because I know you. There’s no way you would let anyone outwork you, and they will see that.” Jeff continued, not allowing Annie to be this down. This wasn’t like her, and he had to fix that. 

“Thank you, Jeff. For saying that. It means a lot that you believe in me.” Annie admitted, feeling slightly better.

Still worried, Jeff decided to dig deeper. “Annie, did anything happen?”

“I uhhh….my parents came to visit me. They said all this stuff, that someone like me shouldn’t have an important job like that, and that I..I..I don’t belong here.” Annie said, and Jeff could hear her crying, her voice breaking as she spoke. He wanted to hug her, and hold her close. Possibly curse out her parents. Yet all he could do right now was to try to console her over the phone.

“Annie…don’t listen to them, okay? They’re assholes, and they don’t see how great you really are. Please don’t think that they’re right, because they’re not. Me, Britta, Abed, Shirley, Troy, even Pierce if he was still here, everybody else here in Greendale, and your co-workers can testify to that. You are smart, hardworking, funny and absolutely awesome, Annie, and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not.” Jeff said, letting his emotions flow freely after hearing what she just said.

“Jeff….thank you. I don’t know what to say, just…thank you. I need to think a bit, so I’ll call you later, okay?” Annie said, obviously still very emotional about everything that was said.

“Of course. Take care Annie.” Jeff replied.

“Oh, and Jeff?” Annie said, wanting to say something before he hung up.

“Yeah?” 

“Sorry for just going on about myself and my issues.” Annie said, feeling bad that the conversation had been so one-sided.

“That’s okay. I want to be there for you, that you’re okay is more important right now.” Jeff said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

After a slight pause, Annie spoke. “Thank you. I’m gonna hang up now. Talk later.” 

“See ya.” Jeff responded, before hearing the sound of the call ending.

He could not believe what he had just heard. How could her parents say something like that? And how could they, after everything she had done so successfully still not appreciate her? Jeff couldn’t even bring himself to slightly understand why they were like that, and resigned himself to likely never understanding it. If her real family didn’t do enough for her, then he and the others would do it for them. She deserved as much. 

With his mind and later his conversation with Annie distracting him from his reading, Jeff decided to call it quits for the night to watch some tv. Only issue? He had finished the latest season of Game of Thrones, and now he had no idea what to watch. Seeing no other solution, he decided to call upon the expert.

 _Hey, I’ve run out of series to watch again. Got any recs?_  
-Jeff Winger 7:57 PM

 _I think you might like Better Caul Saul. It’s about a failing lawyer trying to make his own firm work, while getting wrapped up in a bunch of drug dealing._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:00 PM

 _Eh, think I’m going to pass on that._  
-Jeff Winger 8:01 PM

 _Ok, maybe too close to home. What about Bojack Horseman? It’s about a depressed horse-man who used to a famous actor in the 90’s._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:02 PM

 _Maybe something less depressing?_  
-Jeff Winger 8:03 PM

 _Understandable. What about Silicon Valley? It’s a comedy about the Silicon Valley culture._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:05 PM

 _Sounds cool, thanks. Where do you find it?_  
-Jeff Winger 8:06 PM

 _It’s on HBO._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:07 PM

 _Thanks. Btw, how are things in LA?_  
-Jeff Winger 8:08 PM

 _Good. The producer listened to one of my ideas about an episode. I think he might listen to more of my ideas in the future._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:09 PM

 _That’s good. How are things outside of work?_  
-Jeff Winger 8:10 PM

 _It’s okay. It’s quiet, but I have worse Wi-Fi than before, need to upgrade it._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:11 PM

 _I feel your pain. Talk soon Abed._  
-Jeff Winger 8:12 PM

 _Absolutely. Talk soon._  
-[Insert movie reference here] 8:13 PM

Pleased to finally have something to binge for the next few nights, Jeff sat down on his couch and brought up HBO to find Abed’s recommendation, content with life for the moment.


	10. Basic Cardiological Psychology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie delivers some news, Jeff and Britta has some preparation to do.

It was getting close now. The day he had looked forward to all summer was finally here. A week earlier, he had received a text from Annie.

 _Hi, are you free? Need to call you asap_  
-Cute Doe Eyes 10:03 PM

 _I am, call me_  
-Jeff Winger 10:04 PM

Instantly, he heard his phone buzz. She had been waiting for his response. “Hello?” Jeff said hesitantly.

“Hello Jeff, sorry for calling so late.” Annie responded, and he could hear a slight hesitancy in her voice. 

“That’s okay, I was up anyway. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?” Jeff said, curious about what it was.

“I just spoke to my supervisor at work before the end of my shift, and he uhhhh…he told me that they won’t be hiring me.” Annie said, and Jeff could hear how sad she was.

Not knowing all the details, Jeff decided to ask for them instead of consoling her right away. “Did he say why?” 

“He said that they aren’t looking to hire more forensics people right now, so there just wasn’t a position open for me.” Annie explained, but he could hear how hurt she was.

“Okay. Were they happy with how you did?” Jeff asked, trying to lead her normally very rational mind into the conclusion he wanted her to see herself.

“I think so. He said they liked me, and that I worked very hard and picked up things quickly.” Annie responded.

“That’s great! That means that if that position does open up somewhere, they’ll have you in mind.” Jeff said more cheerfully, trying to see the positive side of it for her.

“Yeah…I guess. It just sucks, you know? I’ve done all this work, yet I feel like I feel like I’m just back where I began, not knowing the next step.” Annie said, opening up about her feelings of doubt.

“You’ll be fine, Annie. Remember what we talked about? You’ll land on your feet. Tomorrow, make sure you ask your supervisor if it’s okay if you can use him as a reference. A recommendation from him will be worth it’s weight in gold, I guarantee you that anybody would hire you in a heartbeat if you have that.” Jeff said, encouraging her.

“Right, yeah. I need to do that. Thank you for reminding me.” Annie said.

“No problem. That’s how I managed to get so far as a lawyer, after all. I got recommendations and references, and suddenly I was exactly where I wanted to be at the time.” Jeff said, hinting to the experience he had in the job market. Annie naturally didn’t have that experience yet, so something like that would be easy to forget.

“Right. Anyway, this means that I’ll be heading back in a week or so. I don’t want to be paying rent here when I don’t have a job, so I’ll return to Greendale.” Annie said very nonchalantly.  
Internally, Jeff was overjoyed. FINALLY, his mind was screaming out. But he wanted to appear happy, but not too happy, given the circumstances. “That’s great! It’ll be great to see you again, I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you too Jeff. I don’t know how long I’ll be back; I just need to figure out my next step. But I’ll let you know once I know exactly when I’m heading back. Need to talk to the others too. I just got off work, got told right before I left so I would know a week in advance, so I haven’t really planned things out yet.” Annie said honestly. 

“Okay, let me know once you’ve figured things out.” Jeff responded.

“I will. Good night, Jeff.”

“Good night, Annie.” Jeff said, then ended the call.

Two days later, Annie called him yet again, this time earlier in the day and without a text.

“Hi Annie.” Jeff said as he picked up the phone.

“Hi Jeff. I just ordered my flight back; I’m heading back on Saturday.” Annie said, sounding a bit more cheerful about it.

“That’s great! Have you figured out where you’ll stay?” Jeff asked, seeing it as an obvious thing she would have to know.

“I considered moving back to my parents place for the time being time save money, then thought better of it.” Annie started saying, before Jeff interrupted her.

“Good, do not move back in with those jerks. Hell, you could….” Jeff started saying, before Annie interrupted him in return.

“Jeff! Let me finish!” She said, shutting him up instantly. “As I was saying, I thought better of it. I talked with Britta, and my old room is empty. I got in touch with the landlord, and since I know all of his shoe stealing secrets and Britta scared the other tenant away, I was able to get the room back for cheap.” Annie finished, sounding gleeful.

“Annie, you evil genius. That’s brilliant!” Jeff exclaimed, proud of how clever and manipulative she could be if she set her mind to it.

“I know! It’ll be good to be back home again.” Annie admitted.

“It’ll be good to have you back. As for living with Britta, not something I’d do, but you do you.” Jeff said, laughing slightly at the thought of living with Britta.

“I’m used to it, it’ll be fine. And I’ve missed you, it’ll be good to see you again.” Annie countered.

“I’m looking forward to it. I gotta go now though, was about to head to the gym. Talk later?” Jeff said.

“Yeah, talk later. Have fun!” Annie said.

“I’ll try. Leg day, so I doubt it will be.” Jeff said, chuckling slightly.

“Ugh, sounds awful.” 

“It is. But I really need to go now. Bye Annie!” Jeff said, and hovered his finger over the button.

“Bye Jeff!” Annie responded, and as soon as he heard it, Jeff ended the call and picked up his bag again. 

Happy to know when she was finally returning, Jeff headed to the gym with a big smile on his face. For once, leg day wasn’t horrible, and he found himself having a really good session, while getting a few curious looks due to the massive grin on his face the whole time he was there. After returning home, showering and eating some dinner, he decided to call Britta.

“Brittaaaaa!” He exclaimed as soon as she picked up.

“Let me guess, you’re calling about Annie.” Britta said right away.

“No, Britta, I’m calling to ask about how it was serving drunks last night. Of course I’m calling about Annie.” Jeff said with a sarcastic tone.

“Ugh. I didn’t mean to sneak in and make her move in with me instead of you, if that’s what you’re calling for.” Britta said, assuming he was mad that he didn’t get to suggest his own place to Annie.

“What? No, I was wondering if I could pick her up at the airport.” Jeff said, slightly baffled that Britta jumped to that conclusion.

“Oh, sure, you can drive us.” Britta answered, happy to save the mileage on her aging car.

“No, I meant that _I_ pick her up, _alone_. I really think she and I need to talk.” Jeff said, annoyed that he even had to clarify that.

“Jeff, as much as you want your mushy, romantic airport gesture, the rest of us wants to see her too. You can’t just put in a reservation to have Annie for yourself the first night she’s back.” Britta said, tired of Jeff being selfish.

“Okay, how about this. I pick her up at the airport, take her to your place, where you’ve planned a welcome back party. That way, everybody gets to see her, I get her alone for a bit, and she gets two pleasant surprises. Sound good?” Jeff suggested, and a part of his mind could not help but be surprised by himself. He, Jeff Winger, was actually _suggesting_ a party, rather than reluctantly agreeing to attend or host. Then again, it was usually Annie that talked him into these kinds of things, and he wanted to do this right.

“Hmmm, yeah, that could work. I’ll need some help with organizing it though. Mostly just to clean up.” Britta responded, thinking that Jeff’s idea wasn’t too bad.

“Fine, I’ll help you clean. But only this one time, and if Frankie asks about picking her up, you take my side. Deal?” Jeff asked for confirmation.

“Deal.” Britta replied, happy with the compromise.

“Okay. I’ll swing by during the week to help. But you’re cleaning up the kitchen by yourself, I’m not touching that mess.” Jeff said, recalling how awful it had looked the few times he had stopped by during the summer. Britta on her own was a recipe for disaster, and he could not fathom how anyone could live like that.

“Ugh, fine.” Britta groaned in return. “See you whenever you decide to stop by. As you know, I work nights every other day.” 

“See you.” Jeff said, then hung up.

Content with his work, Jeff crashed on the couch for the rest of the night, before settling in bed with a smile on his face. Next week was going to be great. 

Four days later, Jeff was regretting that thought. Having put off cleaning Britta’s place, he had finally made his way there, dressed in a pair of old jeans and an old sweater he hadn’t used in years, but for some reason still had in his closet. It totally didn’t look like him, but he didn’t want to ruin his clothes while cleaning.

As soon as Britta opened the door for him, she noted his different look. “You look like shit.” 

“Thanks, really pulled out big guns today.” Jeff responded sarcastically as he walked inside of the apartment. Predictably, it looked like hell.

“Did your shirts all shrink or something? And what’s with the baggy pants?” Britta asked, studying his dark blue sweater, grey t-shirt sticking out of it, and some baggy jeans that had definitely seen better days.

“Do you really think I’d risk ruining a nice shirt to go clean up your mess? Do you even know me?” Jeff asked in return.

“Still, where did you even get that?” Britta asked, amazed that he would even own clothes like that.

“No idea, don’t think I’ve worn this in years and years. Meaning I can ruin it without a care in the world. Perfect when you’ve Britta’d the whole place to hell and back.” Jeff said, and gesticulated to the mess around the apartment. 

“It’s not that bad.” Britta huffed in response.

“It really is. This is a dump, Britta. You have a half-eaten toast in front of the tv, clothes thrown into a chair, stains of what I think is ketchup on the pillow, and the floor looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since Annie and Abed left. And I’m not even going to comment on the kitchen. And that is why I’m wearing this awful sweater.” Jeff replied with frustration evident in his voice.

“Well if it’s so bad, then why don’t you just leave?” Britta bit back.

“Oh trust me, I want to, but this one time, and I mean _one time_ I’ll save your ass and help clean it up before Annie gets here. Because if she comes here and it looks like this, I think she might turn around and leave again. Now come on, let’s get to work, I don’t want to be here all day.” Jeff said, then turned around to start removing her mess. 

With Britta washing the kitchen and Jeff beginning in the living room, the pair managed to stay out of each other’s way for a while. To his disgust, Jeff found something he just could not shut up about. “BRITTA!” He shouted out in anger. 

“WHAT?” She shouted back from the kitchen, before poking her face around the corner. 

“Why the hell is there a used condom under the couch cushion?” He asked, holding up the evidence for her to see.

“I don’t know? I guess someone put it there?” Britta asked back, she didn’t place it there herself, after all.

“Even then, do you never clean? If I didn’t come here to help you, you would have never noticed, and you would have had a very disgusted roommate once she found it.” Jeff said with disgust evident in his voice.

“Only when I have to?” Britta said in return, like it wasn’t a big deal.

“You are such a slob.” Jeff said, his disgusted tone remaining.

“No, I am not!” Britta exclaimed.

“Yes, you are. Now go, I can’t even look at you right now. And I’m burning these clothes afterwards.” Jeff said, then walked to the big trashbag he had put in the living room to dispose of her garbage, and threw the condom into it. Afterwards, he headed straight to the bathroom to wash his hands, intending to wash them five times over to get rid of any trace of what he had just touched.

A several hours later, they were finally done picking up garbage and extensively washing every surface. Every single pillow-cover had been thrown into the washer, and Jeff instructed Britta to put in the couch cushions once they were done to clean those too. Still slightly annoyed, he headed home, and discarded the clothes he had worn into a plastic bag. After a long, rinsing shower, he got dressed and picked up the bag, which he threw down the garbage chute. 

The following day, he returned to Britta’s apartment, and brought backup. “Hi Jeff, oh Frankiieeeeee, so good to see you!” Britta said as she opened the door to find them both there.

“Jeff told me about how awful this place looked yesterday, and in far too much detail even for me. I’m here to help clean up the last few things, and help decorate.” Frankie said, and Jeff could not help but have a smug look on his face. Normally, he and Frankie weren’t close, but if there was anything Frankie liked, it was order and neatness, so getting her to help whip Britta’s place into shape for the return of her favourite ex-member of the Save Greendale Committee. 

“Ugh.” Britta simply said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Jeff recalling everything from the day before.

“Did you wash the couch cushions like Jeff told you to?” Frankie asked right away as they entered the now substantially cleaner, but not completely clean room.

“No.” Britta admitted sheepishly.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go do it now.” Frankie said, and shooed Britta into action.

“I’ll get to cleaning Annie’s room.” Jeff said, willingly bringing himself into action before Frankie demanded it. 

With the three of them together, they managed to get the place looking good pretty quickly. Unusually invested, Jeff made sure everything was clean as a whistle, while Frankie kept Britta in check while decorating. Pleased with the results, Frankie and Britta left, while banning Britta from touching anything outside of the strictly necessary. Back at home, Jeff went to bed with a smile on his face, just like he had five days prior. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would finally be back.

6 PM. She was returning at 6 PM. He had thought about it all day. He had stopped by Britta’s to check that everything was still okay, and then returned back to his own place to have some peace with his own thoughts. He had mapped out exactly how far it was to Denver International, when he had to leave to be completely sure he got there on time, and how the expected traffic was. What he couldn’t figure out, was what to say. How do you tell someone you haven’t seen in ten weeks, but desperately wanted to see every day, whom you had stuck in your mind at all times but wasn’t together with, that you’re happy to see them? Would they hug? Kiss? Make out? There was so many scenarios running through his mind that he felt like Abed for a moment. 

He shook his head, deciding he would do what he did best, he would just figure it out as he went. He decided to go get changed into something more good looking, opting for a freshly ironed dark-blue shirt, and the finest pair of jeans he had. Before he knew it, it was time to go. His clothes looked good, beard was trimmed, hair styled, and car was clean. He was ready to go. Luckily, traffic was fairly light, which left him with a lot of time to wait at the airport. He walked to the gate Annie had informed him she would arrive at, and sat down on a bench. In the hour he sat there, he saw plenty of others waiting to pick up their friends, family and beloved. Many had made improvised signs. Should he have made a sign? No, that was too rom-com. Abed would surely have had something to say about it if he learnt that Jeff picked up Annie while holding a sign at the airport. 

With her arrival getting closer according to the digital boards, Jeff decided to stand up to wait. As her arrival got closer, he felt his hands sweating, and furiously dried them off. He felt his mind running back all the thoughts from a few hours earlier. What would he say? What would he do? Then abruptly, he was shaken from his thoughts. She was there, rounding the corner of the terminal. He looked at her, waiting anxiously for her to see him. And then she did. They locked eyes, smiles forming on their respective faces. Annie was back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to reach out a thanks to the Community Discord fan-fic channel and the community in there for their support and nice comments. It really did help motivate me into writing this, and you did give me some ideas now and then. If you're reading this and you're not a member there - you should stop by! The more the merrier! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Since you got this far, I hope you enjoyed it! Any and all feedback and comments are greatly appreciated, and really, really help me keep going with these things!


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